


Twist in Destiny

by CeciliaJo



Category: Naruto
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-08
Updated: 2015-12-08
Packaged: 2018-05-05 17:16:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 42,515
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5383868
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CeciliaJo/pseuds/CeciliaJo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>They turned to Kakashi to see him gazing at them fondly with a hidden smile akin to wistful, he patted Naruto's head and Sasuke's back, grinning to Rumiya, they turned to each other again and Rumiya held out her fist, Naruto and Sasuke easily held out theirs and they pumped them together, three grins on each of their faces.</p><p>A simple swap in team members can change a lifetime.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Teamwork is The Answer

"…Team 7: Rumiya Takiyama" she perked up.

"Naruto Uzumaki" they grinned "yeah!" He cheered.

"And Sasuke Uchiha" Rumiya stiffened while Naruto slumped down.

"Iruka-sensei! Why did you put two great ninja like me and Rumiya-chan with that bastard?" Naruto demanded.

"Naruto, the Hokage was the one who made the team arrangements, and as far as we know, Sasuke is the student of the year while you're the dead last, he put you with Sasuke and Rumiya to balance the teams" iruka explained and everyone laughed as Naruto sulked.

**********

"What do you think Rumiya-chan?" he asked.

"About what?" she replied.

"About our team, don't you think it's ironic?" he replied.

"Yeah…it quite is" she answered.

"Are you cool with it?" he asked.

"I think it's about time for us to fix childhood mistakes, we can't have a good teamwork without being on good terms" she answered, he nodded and they dropped in light chatting, after they finished lunch, they headed to the class.

-2hours later-

"Gah! He's late!" Naruto yelled "I will teach that jerk a lesson" he grabbed a board eraser and tucked it in the door.

"As if a jounin will fall to such a booby trap" she and Sasuke snorted at the same moment, they turned to each other before turning away, right at that moment a man walked in and the eraser dropped on his head, both Sasuke and Rumiya were quite surprised that he fell for it, but they settled with the same thought of him being lazy, the man was masked and only his right eye was uncovered, with silver hair defying gravity.

"Yo" he greeted "my first impression of you guys, you're all idiots" he said, and Rumiya elbowed Naruto hard and he gasped for air as he fell down.

"We apologize for giving you a bad impression, we should've worked harder on our patience" she apologized sweetly.

He gazed at her for a moment before smiling behind his mask "ah well, come up to the roof" he flickered away.

"Why did you do that?" Naruto whined.

"For giving him a chance to call us idiots" she answered.

"Do you know him?" Sasuke stepped out of the class.

"No, but I feel we'll have hard time getting along" she walked out of the class.

They stared at him and he stared back "well, why don't you introduce yourselves?" he suggested.

"What do you want to know?" Rumiya queried.

"Something like your names, likes, dislikes, hobbies, dreams, something like that" he proposed.

"Why don't you start first?" Naruto offered.

"Me? Hmm…my name's kakashi Hatake, I have no desire to tell you my likes and dislikes, my dreams are none of your business, I have a lot of hobbies" he gave.

"All he told us was his name" Naruto muttered.

"Why don't you go first, the boy in the jump suit" kakashi said referring to naruto and said boy grinned.

"my name's naruto uzumaki! I like rumiya-chan and ramen, and when Iruka-sensei buys it to me! My dislikes are the 3 minute wait for ramen to boil! My hobbies are pranks I guess! My dream is to be hokage to gain everyone's respect!" he answered and Kakashi nodded.

Then he turned to Rumiya "my name's Rumiya Takiyama, I don't have any hobbies, there are many things that I like and dislike, my ambition is to become the strongest Kunoichi in Konoha" she answered before he asked, he nodded.

"And you?" he asked Sasuke "my name is Sasuke Uchiha, there are lots of things I dislike and I don't really like anything and…I can't really call it a dream, But I have an ambition, the resurrection of my clan and… to kill a certain man" he answered darkly.

"So far for the introductions, tomorrow we'll start our duties as Shinobi" Kakashi announced.

"Yeah!! What kind of duties!?" naruto asked.

"First, we are going to do something with just the four of us" he answered.

"What is it? What is it?" naruto asked again.

"Survival training" kakashi deadpanned.

"Survival training?" naruto asked.

"This isn't a normal training, this time I'm your opponent" he exclaimed and Rumiya's eyes widened a fraction he? But fresh genin like us can't defeat a jounin what does he mean? Her eyes narrowed in suspicion, he cackled.

"What's so funny?" Rumiya asked.

"Uhm…well…it's just that…when I tell you this you guys are totally going to freak out" he cackled, but the only reaction he got was from Naruto why did I choose this team again? He sweat dropped.

"Freak out?" Naruto gulped.

"Of the 27 graduates, only 9 will be chosen to become a genin, the rest will be sent back to the academy, this training is a very difficult exam with a failure rate of over 66%!!" he crowed darkly, but once again, Naruto freaked out while the other two didn't react, only their aura and eyes darkened.

Our test is to fight our jounin teacher, only 3teams will graduate out of the 9teams…this means the jounin will fight with more than a tiny portion of his skill…but we can't defeat him even if he doesn't use any amount of power!......what if we use teamwork? Maybe we will have a chance! Her reaction to his words was just a normal blink. Is that what he wants? For us to use teamwork. She smirked looking straight into his eye. Time to make a plan I guess…I hope Sasuke figured it out.

"I told you you'd freak out" Kakashi cackled.

"What? No way!! But we worked so hard! Then what was the point of graduating!!?" naruto argued, Rumiya held his sleeve and tugged lightly, he turned to her and she nodded in reassurance.

"Oh that? That was just to select those who have the chance to become genin" he avowed.

"Anyway, tomorrow you have to show your real skill on the training ground, bring all the Shinobi tools you have, oh…and skip breakfast, you might throw up" he flickered away.

"What do you think Rumiya-chan?" Naruto fretted.

"Simple," she began and Sasuke turned to her.

"We have no chance in defeating him, so we have to use teamwork to fight him, that's what he wants" she asserted.

"All we have to do is plan how to fight him and we'll have a chance" she said looking at him.

He turned his gaze away for a while, thinking of what she said "we both know, he's a jounin and we're fresh genin, you don't have a chance against him, nor do I, this is a truth we have to admit" she said.

"Alright" he growled and she nodded, she turned to Naruto and a small smile appeared on her face, he grinned back.

"We could use Naruto's jutsu and traps for advantage, Sasuke's ninjutsu, my taijutsu, since that's what we have" she contributed.  
"What's Naruto's Jutsu?" Sasuke asked.

"An A-ranked Jutsu he learnt last night, I only heard about it this morning though" she answered.

"A-ranked?" Sasuke reiterated and they nodded.

"It's called the Shadow Clone Jutsu! I can make hundreds of it!" Naruto boasted, Sasuke stared at him for a moment before turning to his tea.  
"Do you think this will take him down?" Sasuke asked.

"I doubt we can stand before him, but that's better than fighting individually" she answered, they nodded.

"That's all, Naruto, do you want to go training?" she offered "sure" he grinned.

"What about you, bastard?" he asked Sasuke, Rumiya gave him a secret glare and turned to Sasuke with a nervous stare.

"I don't mind" he replied and a spark passed through Rumiya's eyes, Naruto smirked knowingly at her and she averted her gaze from them.  
"You have to work on your defense" she said and he panted.

"But you're getting good, last time I broke your whole arm" she smirked.

"Don't remind me" he muttered.

Sasuke watched them from afar as he trained on his fire Jutsu, after a while he heard Naruto yell in pain "I don't even know why I became your training log in the first place!" he bellowed.

"Because anyone else would've died from the first training session" Rumiya laughed cheerfully in a tone Sasuke rarely heard since his clan's massacre.

"Why is he special?" Sasuke asked.

Naruto turned to Rumiya "don't look at me" she said and he groaned.

"It's complicated" Naruto bleated both of them snorted and he glared at them "bastards! For that I'm not telling you!" he yelled.

Sasuke glared and turned to Rumiya again, she shrugged "his secret to tell" she said, Sasuke scowled and returned to ignoring them, they trained the whole afternoon till evening before going home.

*********

"So it's set to noon" Kakashi said, they blinked in unison.

Then he took out two bells "here are two bells, your task is to take these two from me before the time is up, those who have no bells by noon will not only be tied to the post without lunch, but I will eat in front of them as well" he instructed, Rumiya frowned.

"You have to get one bell, there are only two, so one of you will definitely be tied to the post and…that person who doesn't take a bell fails so at least one of you will be sent back to the academy" he instructed, their eyes widened.

"Genin teams can't consist of two genin and one jounin" Rumiya stared into his eye.

"No, they can" he smiled.

"No they can't" she glared intensely.

"Would you know more than me?" he questioned.

"I don't know more than you, but my family members surely do" she answered.

"Well this is my test and you're my team, I can do anything with you" he shrugged.

Is he trying to turn us against each other? I can't read him for the heck of it, but I never expected to… so…will he really send one of us back to the academy? Surely not, if we use teamwork since that's what I got till now… she speculated.

"Well, I will give you a hint" he implied.

"You have to look underneath the underneath" he advised.

"Now…Begin!" he said and they all jumped away and hid.

They watched him from afar with their chakra shrouded, Rumiya gave Naruto the go and he made shadow clones and they started their attack, meanwhile they all met in a hidden spot.

"What do you think Rumiya-chan?" Naruto asked.

"He's trying to turn us against each other, that confirms that he wants us to use teamwork, I doubt he will really send us back to the academy if we show good performance and teamwork, maybe he will just tie the one without the bell to the post but that's as far as he can punish us" she answered.

"So, who will sacrifice the bell?" Sasuke asked.

"Well, it won't be that troublesome since we ate…" she trailed off into a pause when she saw the expressions on their faces.

"Oh my god! You believed him? That's idiotic!" she laughed and wiped stray tears, she sucked a breath and calmed down.

"Alright, this means I won't take it then" she said.

"There's a risk he might send you" Sasuke said and she turned to him.

"It will be better if I don't take it, I'm the student of the year, he won't be able to send me back" he gazed at her intensely.

She stared at him could it be…he's worried? She glanced at Naruto who had a smug grin.

"If that's so then it will better if I don't get it" Naruto raised a saluting hand, they turned to him.

"I'm the dead last, it won't matter" he said, they shook their heads with a 'no idiot' at the same moment "there might be a risk in you actually going back" Sasuke said.

"He won't send any of us back, no genin team can consist of 2genin, I will sacrifice the bell since I had breakfast, relax and do as planned, this time our goal will be to get the bells, same plan" she commanded and they nodded unconvinced and scattered.

They watched him from afar as he fought off the clones, then he did a substitution and they all got ready, Rumiya concentrated around her area for any presence, she jumped out of the branch into another one, she looked around and finally found him standing lazily on the ground.

she made hand signs and threw shuriken at him, they cloned and he blocked them all easily, she jumped from behind him and charged but he dodged easily.  
she kept sending kicks and fists but he dodged them all, she narrowed her eyes " Ryūkenpō: Bridge Smashing" she said and in a blur she launched at him and her palm hit his arm when he blocked it, he grunted and a crack was heard, he couldn't move his wrist and hand shit, one basic move and I can't use my arm anymore… he frowned.

She smirked and jumped away, he narrowed his eyes and jumped away when a huge fireball shot at him, but he was tackled by hundreds of shadow clones, he dodged, blocked and returned all their attacks, he cursed in his mind again for the mistake he made.

He paused when all the clones dissipated; he heard a jingling and turned to the team to find Naruto and Sasuke with the bells in their hands, then the alarm rung "yahoo!!" Naruto cheered.

"We did it Rumiya-chan!" he laughed, "of course" she grinned to Kakashi.

They all went to the posts, "let me take a look" she ordered Kakashi and he showed her his hand, she started healing him "your skills are impressive" he praised, she smiled to him "thank you" she thanked.  
"So, what was your plan?" he asked  
"Rumiya/chan figured you wanted us to use teamwork/!" Naruto and Sasuke answered at the same time, he nodded.

"We made a plan and trained together!" Naruto began.

"Then you told us about the bells, so we did a twist to the plan" Sasuke added.

"I know genin teams can't consist of 2genin, so I figured you just wanted us to turn against each other" Rumiya informed.

"Rumiya decided to sacrifice her bell, 'ttebayo" Naruto raved "I'm the only one who had breakfast" she let his now as good as new arm go, he nodded.

"So the plan was?" he asked.

"We used Naruto's clones and the traps he set for distraction, at first it was to confuse you, but we used them to distract you while we discussing the renewed plan, then we executed it, I will fight you head on, I had to land a hit then Sasuke will attack you from behind with a fire Jutsu while you're distracted, if you jump away Naruto and his clones will ambush you and try to take the bell, if you get hit with the fireball…even better" she explained, he nodded.

"Clever planning, I didn't expect you to have a good plan and perfect teamwork from your first mission" he commended.

"What were those clones you used?" he turned to Naruto.

"Those are my shadow clones!" Naruto bragged proudly, he eyed him for a moment before nodding.

"Alright, I think you know all of you passed" he said.

"Yeah!!" Naruto applauded.

"And since Rumiya here is the mastermind even if she didn't get a bell, she won't be tied to the post" he added.

"Not only did you find out the quest of the test was for you to use teamwork, but you used teamwork and sacrificed yourself to the risk of going back to the academy for your teammates" he said and patted her head.

"From now on; you're officially team 7, we'll start our missions tomorrow" he announced.

"Finally!!" Naruto cheered.  
Kakashi chuckled "well, it's see you tomorrow then" he saluted and flickered away.

"Rumiya-chan! I'm starving! 'Ttebayo!" he said, at that moment even Sasuke's stomach growled.

She chuckled "you want to join us?" she asked fidgeting a little.

"I don't mind" he shrugged averting his gaze.

"Well, let's go" she nodded.

"To Ichiraku's!" Naruto cheered and so they ventured there.

When one says 'celebrate our victory' one would expect a great mess and chaos, with a lot of bragging for Teuchi, but…well, team 7 is an unpredictable team, even Teuchi looked a little concerned with the silence the team was in, they all ate slowly, not speaking a word, Rumiya and Sasuke were feeling too awkward seated beside each other to speak, and with Rumiya so silent Naruto didn't know what to speak of, he was friends with Rumiya for 5years, and from being always with her he learnt many things, one of them was how to be silent because Rumiya wasn't that much of a conversationalist, but this was awkward silence unlike the comfortable one he became accustomed to and he needed to end it, soon.

"So, we kicked his butt huh?" he tried and they nodded.

Naruto sweat dropped "he seemed really impressed" he clucked, they nodded again.

"So, did you learn anything new in your medical Jutsu Rumiya-chan?" he asked.

"None that you never heard of" she answered.

Naruto sighed and scowled then he groaned "stop with this gloomy mood! We're a team now you can't stay awkward towards each other forever! What happened to fix childhood mistakes Rumiya-chan?!" he asked angrily and she hissed at him discreetly.

"I'm done" Sasuke muttered and paid before standing up "see you" he mumbled and walked off.

Rumiya watched as he walked away "you know, it's lame that you let him go like that" Naruto jeered and she glared at him.

"It's hard!" she objected

"Hey now, you told me the story, and you think he's still angry that's why he never looks at you, and that's why, you never approached him right?" he said and she nodded.

"Well, we never heard his part of the story, and you always look away from him, he hit you, and you told him you hate him, and he did say some nasty stuff, maybe he's guilty too, and that's why he looks away, and you look away too so he thinks you're angry" he said and she stared at him.

And stared a bit more, then she pulled out a kunai and pointed it to his neck.

"Who are you and where's Naruto?" she growled.

"R-Rumiya-chan?" he quavered nervously.

She backed off with a sigh "you have a point" she mumbled and started playing around with her ramen.

"Well, why don't you follow him and finish this off?" he asked, she didn't respond for a minute before closing her eyes and sighing, then she nodded and she smiled to him "thank you Naruto" she thanked and he nodded with a grin, she went off running.

Rumiya stopped at the edge of the hill to see Sasuke sitting on the dock, she inhaled and walked to him, she noticed him glance then look straight again, she sat beside him and they stayed in silence for a while.

"H-hey…" she tried then cleared her throat "hey" she said clearly "hi" he mumbled not looking at her.

"So…we're a team" she started fidgeting with her fingers "we've been since yesterday" he replied and she sweat dropped.

"So…" she tried again but failed to find something to talk about, she cleared her throat again and looked at the sky up ahead, a smile found its way on her lips at the memories "remember when we first talked to each other?" she asked and he smirked, she took that as an answer.

"We became best friends in the shortest while" she mused, he frowned, she frowned and they went back to silence again.

It felt like a whole hour for the two sitting in awkward silence when Rumiya huffed "alright I give up!" she shouted then turned to Sasuke and bowed Dogeza style "forgive me" she apologized.

Sasuke looked at her in bafflement "what?" he blurted out.

"Yes! I sincerely apologize for the selfishness and insensibility I displayed back 5years ago, I selfishly shoved my problems at you uncaring for your much larger problems" she apologized seriously.

 

"Selfishness and insensibility?" he blinked and she nodded.

"Why are you apologizing idiot? I'm the one who should be apologizing" he snorted.

"Huh?" she looked up.

"I wronged you, I should be apologizing" he scowled and she sat up.

"What?" she asked, he looked away "I hurt you, I was the insensitive one" he answered.

"Of course not! I was selfish! I had no right to run to you with my troubles" she objected.

"No, you had every right to come to me with your troubles, I was your best friend...weren't I?" he insisted.

"You were my best friend" she affirmed quietly.

They locked eyes and stayed still for a moment before he smirked and she smiled sheepishly "I guess we misunderstood" she said.

"I thought you hated me" he replied.

"I will never hate you!" she laughed.

"I made you cry" he mumbled.

"Well…don't forget the circumstances we both were in" she replied, he looked at her again with shining eyes, she smiled.

"So we're friends again?" she asked, he gave a small smile "friends again" he agreed.

"Oh I love you so much!!" she tackled him.

"This feels like a great burden hopping off my back!" she chortled and let him go.

He nodded awkwardly, she was grinning brightly, and her eyes were sparkling happily, he found himself smiling slightly, then he stood up and she followed.

"Let me walk you home" he offered and she nodded.

They walked slowly, taking their time "so, all this time, you didn't come apologize why?" she asked.

"The same reason you didn't come to apologize for" he answered.

"How did you and Naruto become friends?" he asked, she blinked.

"Why do you ask?" she asked.

"I wake up after a coma of 2weeks, I find out your older brother was killed, we two have a big fight and the next day I see you hanging out with Naruto like you're friends for years, I surely question that" he answered.

"Ah, about that…" she mumbled "umm, you know, after the fight, I ran away right?" she asked and he nodded with a frown.

"Well, I hid in the park and Naruto found me, he…comforted me I guess, and we became friends" she answered watching his reaction, she saw his eyebrow twitch once before his usual frown settled in and he gave her a hum before going silent, she stayed quiet as well, this time it was a comfortable silence and she enjoyed it.

"Well, here we are" she said looking at her residence "I'm glad we finally made up, though it's a shame it took us such a long time" she smiled sweetly "yea" he nodded looking elsewhere.

"Well, see you tomorrow, Sasuke" she said and he looked at her to see her halfway inside, she grinned to him and waved, but she closed the gate before he could raise his hand to wave back, Sasuke watched the closed gates for a while before turning around and cruising home.

**********

"Your next mission is to watch the Hayama children while their parents work, you're dismissed" the Hokage said, Naruto groaned.

They went to the house and were met with flying toys and screaming parents, the parents left as soon as the team walked in.

They exchanged glances "formation 4" Rumiya instructed and they went on ambushing the 5children, then they tied them to chairs, finishing they all stood in front of the squirming children.

"We'll tell mommy! Let us go!" one of the devil spawns shrieked.

"We'll let you go," Rumiya started "if you promise on your necks you will behave we'll let you out, if you don't…" she trailed off.

Sasuke made a neck slitting motion with his thumb with a scary smirk, the children had tears in their eyes as they nodded frantically and Naruto took off the ropes.

"Now, go clean up this mess then play in one spot quietly" she commanded and they scurried away doing what they were told.

"So, this is gonna be a while, what do we do?" she asked, Naruto looked to be in thought before he grinned mischievously, Sasuke and Rumiya exchanged glances.

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu!"

"Ryūkenpō: 16 Holes!"

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

"Fire Release: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!"

"Ryūkenpō: Eagle Claw!"

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

"Fire Release: Dragon Flame Jutsu!"

"Ryūkenpō: Fierce Tiger Leap!"

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

…."Naruto…"

"I know! Shut up! 'Ttebayo!"

"Dope" "bastard!"

"How many fire techniques do you actually know Sasuke?" Rumiya asked.

"Only those 3" he answered "how many techniques do you know?" he asked.

"Out of my family's style, except for the 3basics only 2 Shurikenjutsu I learnt from you" she answered "and family techniques, 6" she added.  
"I know 6 Shurikenjutsu and 3 fire techniques" he informed.

They turned to Naruto then turned to each other before sighing "it will be a painful journey" she muttered.

"Kakashi is supposed to train him" Sasuke objected, Naruto was growing more annoyed at the moment.

"But we're a team, we should help each other as well" she said, he sighed.

"Whatever, I will train him in Ninjutsu then, you train him in Taijutsu, the rest Kakashi can do, we're doing him a favor by helping Naruto already" he said and Rumiya burst into giggling fits.

"Hey! I'm right here you know! And what do you mean by that bastard?!" Naruto yelled.

"Well, I doubt it will be hard, we can use your shadow clones" she told them and they blinked at her.

"What?" she asked.

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked her.

"Shadow clones transmit information to you when they dissipate, I asked father about it and he told me, it was used for spying back then, so the user won't be put in danger" she answered in a 'duh' tone.

"Cool!!!" Naruto cheered, and then he paused and blinked.  
"What is it?" Rena asked.

"The mission is done, my clones dissipated" he said, then sparks lit his eyes "this rocks!!" he applauded.

"Told you, anyway we should head to the Hokage tower" Rumiya said.

**********

"Well, it seems Rumiya is better than you two boys" Kakashi commented and Rumiya grinned and walked down, both boys scowled at her.  
"Kakashi-sensei you're not being fair" she berated.

"And why oh why do you say that?" he asked innocently.

"I'm a medic, I have perfect chakra control so it's easy, I can walk on water too, but Naruto and Sasuke don't because they never had special training on chakra control" she answered.

"Well then, why don't you help them?" he offered.

"Yeah Rumiya-chan" Naruto whined.

"Well if you insist" she said and walked to them "come here you two" she commanded and they jumped to her.

"Now I will make it easy, transfer chakra to your hand" she instructed and they complied "then stick it to the tree, if it doesn't glue add a little bit of chakra, if it doesn't get off at all subtract a little bit, that will be your base amount, then you try transferring the same amount to your feet and walk up two steps, if it works, stick to that, if it doesn't change it how you see" she told them and they nodded and did as told and went into concentration mood, she walked back beside Kakashi.

"That's how you're supposed to teach your students things" she inculcated him.

"It was fun watching them fall as it lasted" he muttered "tough luck" she laughed.

3hours later Naruto cheered over finally being able to climb successfully, while Sasuke smirked on his success as well, Rumiya stopped mid punch at Kakashi who stopped mid dodge.

"That was quick" Kakashi noted and Rumiya smirked and punched him in the stomach then skipped to her teammates "good work" she praised.

"How long did it take you to do it?" Sasuke asked "58 seconds" she answered smugly, he scowled and Naruto pouted.

"Being a ninja clan member does that" she said.

"Well, you're finished early, how about we begin the walking on water training?" Kakashi asked and they nodded eagerly.

"I advise you take your clothes off" Kakashi said "I know how to walk on water!" Rumiya squealed and he chuckled.

"What do we do Rumiya-chan?" Naruto asked "the same formula" she said and they nodded and took off their shirts and sandals, then they began training again.

Rumiya turned to Kakashi "shall we continue?" she asked.

"That punch doesn't count" he said.

"It does! you let your guard down!" she argued.

"No it doesn't, it was a time out" he replied.

"It does, it's your fault for getting distracted, and you didn't say time out" she insisted.

"That's quite unfair" he griped.

"Everything is fair in love and war" smirked.

"But this is no war" he smirked back.

"Maybe it's love" she batted her eyelashes at him.

They both laughed before charging at each other and Rumiya aimed a punch but he grabbed her hand and twisted her around so her back was to him, then he turned her to the side and pushed her backwards "do you think?" he asked slyly.

She scowled at him and he tugged on her arm "ow!" she whined, he dropped her to the ground.

"That's a hit for me too, so how many is that again?" he asked.

She pouted and stood up "46 – 3 to you" she growled and looked back to him, the amusement in his eye irritated her, she charged again.  
"You're really into that competition between you and Kaka-sensei aren't you?" Naruto asked and she shrugged.

"I'm having fun and improving, today the score was 32 – 5!" she said proudly.

"I want to play it too!" Naruto grinned.

"Well, you both finished your chakra control training, though Kakashi-sensei said he will be teaching us Ninjutsu" she smirked.

Naruto's eyes sparkled "Ninjutsu?! What? What!? What will he teach us?! 'ttebayo!" he asked excitedly, at that even Sasuke started paying attention.

"He said he'll see our elemental nature" she answered.

"Our elemental nature! Wow! That's cool!...And that's…?" Naruto trailed off.

Rumiya and Sasuke sweat dropped "nature transformation, it's an advanced form of chakra control, it entails the molding and defining of one's chakra into an innate kind of chakra nature, altering its properties and characteristics" Rumiya answered.

"Like Sasuke's Fire techniques, you know, there are five, and only few shinobi have two natures, only those with Kekkei Genkai have 3 or more" she told him and he nodded a hum.

They sweat dropped again "you totally don't get it" Sasuke said.

"Not one bit" she agreed, he pouted at them, Rumiya sighed.

"It's something like this" she made a hand seal, electricity appeared on her fingertips "you use your chakra like when you do a Jutsu, but instead it's elemental, fire, wind, lightning, earth, water, there are a lot more but they're Kekkei genkai so we can't use them" she explained, he looked in awe and nodded.

"I still wonder how he passed the written exam" Sasuke said and Rumiya stifled a giggle.

"Bastard!" Naruto yelled, after a session of the daily bickering, they separated.

********

"Smile" the photographer said, Naruto gave a toothy grin with peace signs, Rumiya smiled brightly with a peace sign and Sasuke smirked with a peace sign barely hidden in his crossed arms, while Kakashi patted both of their heads with a hidden smile and peace signs on his fingers, making it seem as if he's making bunny ear for the boys, 4 snaps were taken and soon the pictures were out.

"Oh this is so pretty" Rumiya said with a fond smile, she grinned to her teammates "from now on this is my treasure" she gushed.

"It's mine too!'Ttebayo" Naruto agreed, she grinned to him and they turned to Sasuke and he smiled back.

They turned to Kakashi to see him gazing at them fondly with a hidden smile akin to wistful, he patted Naruto's head and Sasuke's back, grinning to Rumiya, they turned to each other again and Rumiya held out her fist, Naruto and Sasuke easily held out theirs and they pumped them together, three grins on each of their faces.


	2. Land of The Waves

"Enough!" Naruto bellowed angrily.

"I'm tired of all those chores!" he announced and was bonked on the head by an apologizing Kakashi.

"Naruto! You're still just fresh Genin!" Iruka scolded, Rumiya and Sasuke exchanged glances as Iruka and the Hokage began their rant about ranks.

"Hokage-sama" Rumiya cut in.

"Yes?" he answered.

"Usually at this amount of time, how much do fresh genin teams accomplish?" she asked.

"Ah, at such a short amount of time, they should still be training on their teamwork" he answered and she and Sasuke gave identical smirks.

"What do you say if we tell you our teamwork is perfect?" he told him.

"We already learnt how to walk up vertical land and water, and today we'll begin training on elemental Jutsu" she reported and the room went silent.

"What methods of training did you use on them Kakashi!!??" Iruka asked in panic.

Kakashi chuckled "they did it all by themselves actually, Rumiya is the leader" he said, they turned to her.

"I help Naruto and Sasuke in Taijutsu, Sasuke helps us in Genjutsu and Ninjutsu, Kakashi-sensei is just audience" she shrugged.

"Now now Rumiya, we do have spars sometimes" Kakashi clucked.

"I don't save faces for people" she replied.

"Well then, if that's truly how far you've improved, then I guess you do deserve a reward" the Hokage said.

"Alright, I will give you a C-ranked mission, I want you to escort someone to their village" he announced. "really?!! Who is it!!?? A feudal!!?? A princess?!!" naruto exclaimed.

"Calm down, I will bring him in" the older man spoke.

The door opened and in came the smell of alcohol, an old man came in with his alcohol bottle, he glared at them "what's this!? Are these are the ones who will escort me to my village?! Snotty kids! And the short one with the stupid looks on his face! Is he really a ninja?!" he bellowed and naruto fumed.

"I will kill you!" he threatened but kakashi held him down.

"You're not supposed to kill the person you have to protect" he scolded him.

"Sir, the hokage would never give us a mission we're not capable of, and I should inform you that we're the best genin team this year, we're capable of protecting you" Rumiya said and he scoffed.

"Anyway, I'm Tazuna the great bridge builder, I expect you to protect me with your lives" he said and they nodded sourly.

"Well, we'll meet at the southern gates in 30minutes, don't be late" Kakashi said.

"Look who's talking, 'ttebayo" Naruto said and Rumiya and Sasuke gave identical snorts, they left and separated.

*********

"A C-ranked mission so early" Keiji stated and she nodded, he smiled "to expect from you, head on" he permitted and she grinned and left the room.

She stumbled across Ren on the way and they smiled to each other "hey, I didn't catch you at breakfast" he said.

"Yea, I had it with my team" she said with a shy smile.

"How's your training going with them?" he asked.

"Good!" she beamed as they walked toward her room.

"Actually I'm here to pack up because we have a C-ranked mission out of the village" she clasped her hands behind her back.

He grinned "to expect from you" he patted her head.

"Well then, I will let you pack, when you will come back?" he asked.

"It won't be more than a week" she answered.

"ah, the place will be boring, are you really leaving me alone?" he pouted.

"You always left me alone when I was a student" she shrugged and he stuck his tongue out.

"Touché" he chuckled and she giggled.

"We're here" she said referring to her room.

"Be careful okay?" he warned, she turned to him.

"Don't worry, I doubt we'll be fighting Ninja in a C-ranked mission" she said.

"Still be cautious, you never know what might encounter you" he advised.

"Alright, I will take my medical kit too if that makes you feel better" she assured and he nodded with a smile, she gave a sweet smile and went in, she started packing her things.

2PJs, 4pairs of undergarments, 1extra outfit, her medical kit, food pills, toiletries then she paused how long does it take to get to the land of waves? She shrugged well, better bring it than regret it she packed her sleeping bad then brushed her hair into a tight bun, her bangs were kept in place with her crochet headband, she wore her backpack then ran out quickly.

*********

20minutes later she saw Sasuke walking to the gates "hey Sasuke" she greeted, he turned to her and nodded, eyeing her bun "so it won't get in my way" she enlightened, he nodded.

"Guys!" they heard and turned to Naruto running to them, followed by Tazuna.

"I'm so excited!" he gushed, Rumiya nodded and Kakashi appeared, Naruto's jaw dropped on the ground, Rumiya's mouth went 'O' and Sasuke's mouth went 'o'.

"You're not late" they all said together and he chuckled "let's move on" he said and they started walking, it was silent for a long while, but Naruto was getting bored, fast.

"Ne Kaka-sensei! Rumiya- chan said you were going to teach un an elemental Jutsu" Naruto said and they turned to him.

"Yeah, she's right" Kakashi replied.

"So, so what are you going to teach us?!" he asked.

"I need to know your nature first" he answered.

"Mine is lightning" Rumiya replied.

"Mine is fire" Sasuke followed.

"We don't know Naruto's and you might have a second nature, don't you think?" he replied and they nodded thoughtfully.

"I wonder what my nature is?" Naruto asked giddily.

"Surely you're not an earth user" Sasuke answered.

"Nor a water user" Rumiya added and they smirked smugly.

Naruto scowled, feeling the mockery in what they said but not understanding what they meant, even Kakashi was amused understanding what they meant.

"I don't get it" Tazuna spoke "those two elements are the easiest to control, but usually the people who have those elements are very calm, peaceful, think before act people" Rumiya answered.

"You…! Are you insulting me?!" Naruto barked then he turned to Rumiya with a pout.

Rumiya was about to tease him when she noticed a puddle on the ground, she blinked and frowned the weather is dry, I doubt it rained in a while she glanced at Kakashi and he glanced at her, they exchanged mutual information but she kept silent because he did.

In a second chains wrapped around Kakashi and he ruptured, she ran to Tazuna to protect him and looked at her two teammates "one down four to go" one of the men who tried to kill Kakashi said.

Rumiya noticed their headbands and her eyes narrowed water nuke-nin… Mercenary? That raises this mission to B-rank, does Tazuna know? why didn't he tell us? Is that why he was angered by us being children? And the reason he was serious about us protecting him? He knows then…that's illegal.

Sasuke attacked and protected them from one after her and Tazuna, she noticed Naruto frozen, then she saw one of them launching his gauntlet at him "Naruto!" she shouted and he turned to her, the gauntlet grazed Naruto's forehand before Sasuke beat up that one as well.

Then Kakashi hopped down and she glared at him heatedly, he smiled to her "good work Sasuke, Rumiya, Naruto I didn't expect you to freeze like that" he said and Naruto turned to him.

"Are you hurt scaredy-cat?" Sasuke asked and Naruto glared at him "bastard!" he boomed.

Rumiya sighed and took off her bag and rummaged through it till she found an olive oil bottle, she walked to Naruto and drank it "give me your hand idiot" she said and he complied in confusion.

She cleaned the wound then sliced it wider, he winced, she put her lips over it and sucked then she spat it out and repeated, after many recurs, she healed it and bandaged his hand.

"Seriously, what would you do without me?" she said with a smirk as she wiped her mouth "that's a very good method you used Rumiya" Kakashi praised and she smiled to him, then she turned to the now tied nuke-nin, she looked at Tazuna.

"Those are after you, and you know that, not only did you lie to our village about the mission, but you endangered our team" she said and he looked down in shame.

"Oh, you gathered all of that by this attack only?" Kakashi asked impressed.

"Almost all Mizugakure nuke-nin are mercenary, why would they bother with us then? Tazuna's actions from the beginning and his wariness all along the road, I figured he knows he's targeted, that's why he was angry children were protecting him" she explained easily.

He gazed at her for a moment, then he smiled "you will make a good information gatherer in the future" he praised and she grinned proudly and turned to her other teammates, one's mouth was slacked in awe while the other concealed his in.

"So, do we keep those like this? Or do we report this? I'm sure we'll get some money out of catching them, well, Sasuke deserves it" she said and he nodded.

"We'll do just that" he answered, they nodded, he sent the message and Tazuna explained the whole situation, they stayed in their spot for a while.

"So…?" Rumiya trailed off.

"Now that we knew about that, there's someone who hires shinobi to assassinate tazuna, this mission turned to at least B-rank" Kakashi answered.

"So we're on a B-ranked mission! How cool!" naruto cheered.

"No, we have to retreat, this is not a mission you're capable of just yet" Kakashi replied.

"But!" naruto protested.

"Let's vote" sasuke blurted, they blinked.

"Even you?" she asked, he shrugged and smirked.

She thought about it this is a B-rank…and Gato is rich, those two might not be his strongest fighters, what if we encounter stronger nuke-nin? It would be dangerous, I trust Kakashi-sensei, but… she frowned worriedly and looked at Kakashi but it can be good experience…it might turn out well…and if we get rid of Gato, we'll get a reward… she scowled the boys seem excited, I doubt Naruto will make the same mistake again, I don't blame him, it's his first experience in such a situation…but I trust him…and Sasuke is capable of it for sure, adding my medical experience we also have Kakashi-sensei…I'm sure nothing can go wrong.

"Alright, I'm in" she sighed.

"Hell yeah!!" Naruto applauded and Kakashi nodded.

Tazuna sighed in relief "let's go then" Kakashi said.

*********

"Duck!" kakashi abruptly commanded and they all got down with tazuna under them.

They heard a swirling noise then out of nowhere a huge sword struck a tree on our way, then jumped on it a shirtless guy with bandages covering his face, he stood on the sword in a lazy stance, they rose carefully, they all glared at him.

Rumiya glanced at Kakashi and frowned Kakashi-sensei is serious, that means this man is dangerous… she turned to the guy the question is…how dangerous? "Zabuza Momochi" Kakashi growled "Surround Tazuna and protect him, he comes first, I will take this fight" he said holding his head protector, Rumiya's eyes widened…

***********

"Father, tell me about Kakashi Hatake" she inquired.

He turned to her and hummed in thought "well, Kakashi Hatake is the youngest prodigy in the Konoha history" he started, her eyes widened.

"He became genin when he was 5, chuunin when he was 6 and jounin when he was 11" he counted, she nodded slowly in awe.

"He's the student of the Fourth Hokage" he added.

"Naruto's father" she whispered frowning.

"How…did you know that?" he raised an eyebrow, she looked up and blinked slowly.

"Naruto told me about the Kyuubi, I figured it out, it's quite obvious" she shrugged and he smirked.

"I guess so, anyway, in the 3rd war his teammates were killed in action" he frowned.

"his teammate was an Uchiha, and he gave him his Sharingan" his eyes narrowed and she blinked and went 'o'.

"not long after, his other teammate died as well" he added and she frowned sympathetically.

"she sacrificed herself for the village, I still remember her as a prodigious medic" he explained and she nodded.

"soon he turned Anbu and became famed for copying a thousand Jutsu, a true story, proof of his proficiency with the Sharingan, he quit Anbu 5years ago, and I'm proud of you for passing his test, you're the first team to" he finished, she nodded, musing over the information she received.

"thank you father" she grinned, he nodded.

**********

Finally I can get to see the Sharingan…

"Oh, kakashi of the Sharingan, it's an honor to fight with you" Zabuza said, kakashi showed his eye and Sasuke's eyes widened in shock.

"What does the Sharingan do?" naruto asked.

"Sharingan, it's said that some have the ability in their eyes to read and defeat all types of gen, tai, and ninjutsu, the Sharingan is one of the types that gives you this power" sasuke started.

"But that's not the only ability the Sharingan has," he stopped.

"He he…exactly, what's even scarier is…that you can copy your opponent's techniques once you see them" Zabuza added and she looked at kakashi.

"When I was a member of the hidden mist's assassin team…I kept a handbook, it included information of you" Zabuza looked at kakashi.

"And this is what it said, the man who's copied over 1000 jutsu…'copy ninja kakashi'" he finished.

"Now, let's end the talk, I have to kill the old man" he exclaimed, the team got ready and surrounded Tazuna, Kakashi stepped forward.

"But..Kakashi…! it seems I have to kill you first" he jumped into the lake, then he flew out and stood over it, he made a hand sign "Ninpō : Hidden Mist No Jutsu" he spelled before disappearing "he's gone" naruto uttered and kakashi nodded.

"He'll come after me first. As a member of the hidden mist...He was knows as an expert in silent killing, you don't even notice until you're already dead, it's not like I can use my Sharingan perfectly, you guys be careful" he warned, Rumiya scowled.

The mist grew thicker '8 choices' they heard in the air 'liver, lungs, spine, clavicle vein…neck vein, brain, kidneys, heart. Which one should I go after?' Zabuza said, Rumiya sucked in a breathe for 10seconds then let it out, calming her heart rate a little, a little stir in the air and suddenly a horrifying KI hit them all and she tensed, she forced her muscled to calm down and relaxed, she turned to Naruto who was tense then to Sasuke who was trembling, she frowned worriedly…

********

She wiped her mouth and let out a shuddery breath, she glared at him, he stared at her impassively "one of the scariest weapons an opponent could use against you is their Killer Intent, and to fight the Killer Intent that can cause you to break down, you have to control your fear of pain and death, no one doesn't fear pain and pain, but only strong people can rival their fear, never let it control you, just then, no matter what strong your opponent's Killer Intent is, you will be able to defy it" he taught.

********

"Sasuke" the boy's head snapped to him.

"Don't worry…I'll protect you guys even if it kills me" Kakashi promised and Rumiya relaxed.

"I don't let my comrades die" he assured, Sasuke nodded relaxing.

Swiftly Zabuza appeared behind them and they turned around quickly, Rumiya was first to move and send a blow but it was cut short with Kakashi pushing them all away, they fell and Rumiya glared, he stabbed him and he burst into water.

"Sensei behind you" Naruto warned, but the second Zabuza stabbed him, Kakashi burst into water, Kakashi appeared behind him with a kunai on his neck.

"Don't move" he threatened "it's over" he growled and Naruto grinned, Rumiya's eyes narrowed, it didn't feel right, just then the clone burst and Kakashi was kicked into the lake.

"It's over? Don't make me laugh" Zabuza said mockingly, he made hand seals and a water ball engulfed Kakashi, Rumiya scowled angrily.

"Team 7, take Tazuna and run away, he can't move from his spot with this Jutsu" Kakashi spoke and Rumiya glared at him "you shut up idiot teacher" she growled and he sweat dropped.

We can take advantage of that, try to attack Zabuza, with one hand he can never dodge all of my attacks, he'll have to release Kakashi-sensei she was about to charge but Zabuza made water clones and they had to fight them off.

"Naruto, Sasuke" she whispered, their eyes traveled to her.

"You both protect Tazuna, when the opportunity comes, Naruto I want you to help Kakashi-sensei out" she instructed and they nodded, Naruto kicked a clone and they dashed together.

She jumped up at Zabuza and aimed a punch, but he whacked her arm, a smart move.

She jumped back and glared at him, she launched again and he wielded out his sword, slashing it at her, she jumped back.

She hid a smirk and took out Shuriken and threw them at him, quickly making hand seals "Shadow Shuriken Technique" they replicated.

He blocked them all with his sword but she took the opportunity to launch a kick at him, in a defensive reaction he protected his face with his sword, her knee slammed against the steel sword, she let a curse and jumped back, his hand shook from the pressure of the move and she jumped again.

He slashed with his sword and she landed on it and punched him in the face, knocking him back, the water prison fell apart and Naruto dashed, grabbed Kakashi and pushed him out of the water.

Rumiya backed away and panted lightly, healing her knee.

She turned to Kakashi and he smiled to her behind his mask and turned to Zabuza with a glare and charged when Zabuza stood up.

The two men started fighting again, Zabuza turned to Ninjutsu and made hand seals, Kakashi moved in sync.

"water dragon blast technique!" they shouted together, the water turned feral, two dragons appeared, the two dragons clashed and they had to stick to the ground to avoid getting swept away, Zabuza's irritation was apparent on his face and actions, his sword and Kakashi's kunai clashed.

They both jumped "reading them" Kakashi said and Zabuza's eyes widened.

"Freaking eye is pissing me off, right?" Kakashi said.

"Heh…all you're doing is copying me" Zabuza chuckled.

"You can't beat me you monkey bastard!" Kakashi yelled.

"Damn you! I'll make it so you can never open that mouth again!" Zabuza shouted madly, they both made hand seals at the same moments.

"Water explosion technique!" Kakashi called, the water exploded and Rumiya grabbed Tazuna before he was swept away by the impact.

"It's over" Kakashi jumped on a branch of the tree Zabuza landed against.

"How…? Can you see the future?" Zabuza uttered.

"Yeah, you're going to die" he replied holding a kunai.

Out of nowhere a Senbon hit Zabuza and he fell motionless, confusion filled their minds, when a hunter-nin appeared "he he…you're right. He's dead" the boy chuckled.

Rumiya turned to Zabuza and walked over to him, she checked his pulse and the spot the Senbon hit and exchanged glances with Kakashi, through the silent communication he understood the trap and glared at the boy.

"You won't fool us" she glared.

"It seems you noticed my plan" the boy crouched ready.

Rumiya didn't answer and charged at him, he blocked her fist but grunted, she kicked him in the stomach and poked him in the spine, he fell down motionless.

"W-what happened?!" Naruto asked.

"He's with Zabuza" she answered simply.

"How did you know?" Sasuke asked.

"Where the Senbon hit, it only causes temporary death" she answered.

"What did you do to the boy?" Tazuna asked.

"I paralyzed him" she answered.

She crouched down and removed his mask to blink, indeed that boy was a piece of art, he glared at her, she made a mental pause when she noticed the emotion in his eyes, she frowned down on him then grinned gleefully.

"Ah~ I wonder how much the bounty on Zabuza's head is" she said and the boy's eyes widened.

"No" he whimpered, she ignored him and turned to Kakashi.

"The temporary death spell only lasts 2hours, what do we do?" she asked, he hummed in thought.

"Guess we'll have to eliminate him, we can't risk him waking up, we don't have chakra binds to keep him at bay, I doubt normal ropes or cuffs will keep him down, he's killed on sight anyway, and we can make use of the information we can get from him" he said, she nodded.

"Please! Please don't do it!" the boy cried and she looked down at him, he had tears in his eyes with a broken expression and desperate eyes, she frowned.

"Do you work for Gato?" she asked, he tried to shake his head but she understood.

"For Zabuza" she stated, he tried to nod.

"You're too young to be just a partner, apprentice?" she asked.

"…Tool" he whispered, tears slipped out of his eyes.

"Useless tool…" he whispered.

"I couldn't even…save my master…I'm a useless tool" he sobbed.

She turned to Kakashi who already took care of Zabuza's corpse after giving him a clean kill.

"What's your name?" she turned to the boy asking.

"Haku" he murmured, she turned to Kakashi who automatically took out his bingo book and skimmed through it, he shut it and shook his head she nodded.

"We'll let him go then" she said, he nodded.

"I will seal Zabuza's body…" he trailed off as he collapsed and Rumiya dashed to him.

"Are you okay?" she asked and he nodded "just Sharingan exhaustion" he said, she nodded and started healing him, he blinked when he felt energy pump inside his nerves, he looked at her questioningly.

"A technique of my clan" she said, he nodded and his gaze travelled to Haku who was still paralyzed and broken, he turned to the boys.

"Boys, help Haku up, we have to finish our journey" he said and they nodded and moved to do as told, when she was done he sealed the corpse and they began moving.

His eye snapped open and Rumiya jumped with a small squeal while Naruto yelled in exasperation, Sasuke sighed, he looked at them in amusement.

"And we were so close, 'ttebayo" Naruto groaned snapping his fingers.

"It seems you're all fine, I haven't praised you yet so good job" he praised, they all smiled.

"Are you feeling better?" Rumiya asked, he nodded.

"Actually I'm quite energized, what exactly did you do?" he replied.

She blinked and hummed "well, you know how we pump concentrated chakra to destroy Tenkatsu right?" she said and they nodded.

"Instead of pumping it all at once, I transmit small amounts of the concentrated chakra into your Tenkatsu, so instead of destroying or closing them, it enlivens it so it pumps chakra faster through your body, that way not only do I heal you, but I boost your energy up as well, with a minimum amount of chakra and effort too" she finished with a grin.

"I don't understand" Naruto muttered.

"You never do" she and Sasuke said at the same time.

"Hey!" he yelled.

"Did you create this technique?" Kakashi asked she blinked again.

"No, my brother did" she said with a smile, he nodded.

Tsunami entered the room and he sat up "oh, you're awake, are you okay now, sensei?" she asked.

He nodded with a smile behind his mask, Tazuna entered after her with a grin "I hope you had a good sleep, Kakashi-san" he said and Kakashi nodded.

"So, we defeated the powerful ninja this time, we should be safe for a while" Tazuna said and they nodded.

"How's Haku?" Kakashi asked.

"We have him cuffed in the other room" Sasuke said.

"He keeps murmuring under his breath and he wouldn't interact with the outer world, he doesn't even try to run away" Rumiya answered, he nodded.

"Have you tried talking to him?" he asked, they nodded.

"Wouldn't answer" she and Sasuke said together.

"What about Naruto?" he asked, they all blinked.

"Why?" Rumiya asked "as if he would be any difference" Sasuke said.

"Hey! I'm here you know!" Naruto said Kakashi chuckled.

"Well, try it out" he said, Naruto's eyes shone and he grinned a face splitting grin.

"I will!! I won't let your down Kaka-sensei!!" he said loudly and scrambled out of the room, Rumiya and Sasuke exchanged glances and she shrugged, he scoffed.

"So, we'll be staying for a week right? Won't you teach us anything?" Sasuke asked.

"Ah, I am going to, don't worry, actually I planned to start today" he said.

"Really?" Rumiya asked and he nodded and tried to stand up, his back popped a few times and he sighed.

"Your technique is great Rumiya, this is the first time I feel energized after using the Sharingan" he complimented and she smiled brightly.

They all left the room and Tsunami served them breakfast, soon Naruto came out of the room.

"So?" Sasuke asked.

"I don't really know" he sighed with a thoughtful expression.

Rumiya and Sasuke exchanged frightened glances "what?" they asked together.

"So, Haku has this really cool Kekkei genkai, he can manipulate ice!" he started.

"But he used to live in the land of water! And they had that weird thing for those who had Kekkei Genkei! He inherited it from his mom who hid it! But his father found out! Okay?" he said and they nodded.

"His father killed his mother…" he said grimly "and he tried to kill him, but Haku killed him in self-defense" he said darkly.

"He ran away but Zabuza found him, and he trained him, he made him feel wanted, and he made him feel important, he gave him a reason to exist" he said with a morose growl.

"He became his tool, but we killed Zabuza" he said, it was silent for a long while before Rumiya sighed.

"There's nothing we can do about it" she said, he turned to her with a shocked face.

"What do you mean?!! We killed his savior! Aren't you guilty!?" he asked, she eyed him coldly.

"Naruto, we're Shinobi, we were protecting our client, and Zabuza is an A-ranked killed-on-sight nuke-nin, if we didn't kill him he would've killed us, Haku has to understand that his life doesn't depend on that criminal, and he should move on and start anew while his records are still clean" she said, he stared at her in betrayal.

"Aren't you feeling at least a little bit related? Empathetic?" he asked weakly.

"Would these feelings return back the criminal?" she asked, he looked away.

"And they wouldn't give the boy a better life, I have no relationship to them so I don't need to feel empathetic towards them" she said, she gazed at him as he struggled with a protest and her eyes softened…

"Why do they hate me like this!?"

"Why do they have to treat me like I'm a nuisance?"

"Why don't they accept me…?"

"Am I really this unwanted…?"

"Tell me Rumiya-chan…"

"You don't understand it" he whispered.

"I don't" she said firmly.

"But you do, so it's your responsibility to help the boy, not ours" she added, he blinked.

"We'll stay here for a week, we can't take him to Konoha, in this week you can take the task to turn him into a better person" she said.

"Explain that we don't regret what we did to his master, because we were protecting ourselves, he should understand that" she said, he nodded.

"Good, we'll start training today on our elemental Jutsu so be ready" she said and his eyes lightened up and he grinned and nodded then left.

"Wasn't that harsh?" Tsunami asked.

She turned to her "what part? I told the truth" she said, Tsunami frowned but didn't push it, later the team headed into the forest.

"Transfer chakra into those" Kakashi ordered.

"If it burns, you have fire, if it rips in half, you have wind, if it crumples, you have lightning, if it turns to dirt, you have earth, if it gets damped you have water, understood?" he said and they nodded and did as ordered.

Both of Rumiya's papers crumpled, Naruto's ripped and Sasuke's burnt and crumpled.

"Oh, you have lightning as well Sasuke" Kakashi said and he nodded.

"And Naruto has wind, that's rare in Konoha" he said, Naruto grinned "cool!!" he cheered.

"And Rumiya has lightning as known" Kakashi said and she nodded.

"Now, to the Jutsu I will teach you" he said.

"Sasuke, I will teach you a the Combustion Ash Cloud Jutsu" he told him.

"Rumiya, I will teach you the Dragon Blast Jutsu" he told her.

"Naruto, I will teach you the Wolf Gale Jutsu, they're B-ranked Jutsu" he told him., they gaped at him with sparkling eyes for a moment before Rumiya and Naruto gave face splitting grins and Sasuke barely kept his in with a wide quivering smirk.

They all nodded "we'll start training then" he said.

Half the forest was blown away…half the forest was blown away, seriously literally half the forest was blown away, the changes appeared on the 4th day of their stay, not only in the forest, but in the village too.

Firstly, with Haku's cooperation after Naruto's insistence, they invaded Gato's gangs' HQ, and put his punishment in the civilians' hands, and with that the village became safer.

Inari came to admire Naruto, after that argument on their first dinner with the small family, especially after they saved the village.

Of course their mission ordered to guard Tazuna till the bridge was finished, they still had 3 more days to go.

In those 4past days, Naruto was close to convincing Haku to move on from Zabuza, and Haku was starting to open up a few days after they held a respectful funeral for Zabuza.

Turns out he was a good medic, second he was a good cook, third he was a good fighter, fourth he was very lovable and to add on his beauty he gained a small fan-girl guild, and he was quickly getting tired of it, which made Sasuke relate to him, and that was something.

There was one down side, he was a boy…seriously that put many guys who dreamed to have such a perfect wall flower as himself to be their spouse down, in the 4days he spent in the village he broke about 13hearts, excluding the ladies he regretfully turned down.

But for the most part, Rumiya and Kakashi share the same sadistic streak, they loved to see people annoyed, especially if they inflicted it, more so if that person can't hurt them for whatever they did, that was proven in Sasuke's struggle with his Jutsu, Naruto's struggle with his chakra control and Haku's struggle with his fans.

Yes, these past 4days were quite peaceful, although the forest surely suffered.

"We're finally back!!" Naruto cheered, his teammates smirked.

"Now that we're finally back, we'll have a break tomorrow, but we'll meet after tomorrow at 6am at the usual location" Kakashi said and they nodded, he flickered away and Rumiya grinned to her teammates.

"How about we meet for dinner?" she asked.

"At Ichiraku's!?" Naruto asked "we always eat at Ichiraku's" Sasuke said.

"Right, this time we'll have Barbeque!" she said enthusiastically.

"We'll meet at Yakiniku at 7pm" she said and they nodded then separated.

"Welcome back!" Marika welcomed "I'm back" she entered the manor, they headed straight to the main family section and to her father's room, chatting along the journey about the mission, Marika expressed her astonishment and pride in Rumiya after finding about the change in ranks but the success of the mission, and when they reached the door they separated.

Rumiya knocked and entered after the permission was given.

"Welcome back Rumiya" he welcomed with a smile, she smiled back "I'm back father" she said shutting the door behind her.

She sat in the Seiza style across of him "how was the mission?" he asked.

"In one word I'd say erratic" she answered, he expressed his question with a rise of the eyebrow.

"Turns out the client lied about the real danger of the mission, he was targeted by a multi-millionaire who corrupted his poor village because he was building a bridge that could open trade between the village and other major villages" she started, he nodded.

"We encountered the demon brothers, nuke-chuunin from Mizugakure, from which we figured out our client's lie but continued with votes" she said.

"And what did you vote?" he asked "I voted to continue" she answered, he nodded.

"Later after reaching the village we encountered Zabuza Momochi, an A-rank nuke-nin of Mizugakure as well, which turned our mission A-rank, but we defeated him" she resumed, he nodded with a thoughtful frown.

"Later we invaded the headquarters of Gato's organization, after the bridge was finished we headed back" she finished, he nodded.

"Did any of you get injured?" he asked "no, Kakashi-sensei did a fabulous job in protecting us" she answered.

He nodded "that's great to hear, I'm proud of you" he said with a smile and she grinned.

"I'm going to have dinner with my team" she informed and he nodded "go clean up and take some rest before going then" he said and she nodded and left his room.

She went to her room and took a shower before heading to have lunch.

"Welcome back, I heard your mission turned to A-rank" Ren said, she nodded with a smile.

"Were you hurt?" he asked worriedly and she shook her head "all of us are fine" she answered, he nodded and ruffled her damp hair, a frown fell on his face.

"I told you before not to leave it like that" he scolded, she pouted, he poked her nose.

"Ren-kun!" she protested, he smirked, the food was served and they began to eat.

"What is it that you did in the mission Rumiya?" Kai asked "I figured out that Tazuna-san was targeted when we were first attacked, and I healed Kakashi-sensei with Rei-niisan's technique after his fight with Zabuza Momochi" she began.

"Kakashi-sensei left me in charge of the invasion we did against Gato's HQ, it was a success with no injuries" she said, he nodded.

"Did you learn anything in that week?" he asked.

"Kakashi-sensei taught us elemental Jutsu" she answered.

"Really? You've went this far?" Ren asked, she nodded proudly "he taught me the Dragon Blast Technique" she said, he nodded.

"That's a useful technique whenever you're caught with a long range opponent, he chose wisely, to expect from Kakashi-sempai" he said, she nodded "did you learn it yet?" he asked "no, not yet, but I'm close to mastering it" she said, he nodded.

"Work hard" he said, she nodded, the conversation ended and they continued the meal silently, quite chattering filled the dining room, after lunch she went to her room and looked through her bookshelf, finally she took a book and jumped on her bed and started reading it.

"Cheers!" they cheered clapping their juice glasses.

"For our awesome successful first real mission!" Rumiya toasted.

"For our awesome new skills! Ttebayo" Naruto toasted.

"For more missions like that" Sasuke toasted, they grinned to him.

"Definitely more missions like that!!" they agreed.


	3. The Chuunin Exams

"Oh it's you Konohamaru…what's with the goggles?" Naruto asked.

"You used to wear those Naruto" Rumiya deadpanned.

"We're copying the old you, bro!" Konohamaru answered happily.

Then he grinned to Rumiya "hey Rumiya-neesan!" he greeted.

"Hey Konohamaru, Moegi, Udon" she greeted him and his team "Hey!" they greeted.

"So, can you train us today?" Konohamaru asked excitedly.

They exchanged looks and Rumiya hummed in mock thought "we'll be doing quite the dangerous high ranked Jutsu, and we'll use dangerous weapons" she mused.

"And very scary moves" Naruto nodded, she nodded.

"Can you take that?" she narrowed her eyes at them.

Their eyes shone with excitement and they nodded frantically, she grinned and nodded.

"We'll go then" she said, and so they headed to the training ground.

In an alley on the way they were met with two foreign Shinobi, and then Rumiya realized the Chuunins were close.

"That's why Kakashi-sensei left early" she murmured to herself.

"What?" Naruto asked, she grinned to him.

"The Chuunin exams are close!" she said, he blinked twice, she groaned.

"The Chuunin exams, it's a higher rank than Genin, when we become Chuunin we won't have to do chores" she explained.

His eyes widened "that's great!!" he hooted "we've got to train hard!!" he exclaimed and she nodded with a chuckle "it will be so awesome!" he cheered.

**********

Team 7 was in a bleak mood.

against their habits they came early to the meeting, out of excitement for the news of the Chuunin exams, since the first week of becoming a team they decided to at least be late an hour on the meeting with Kakashi whenever it wasn't for training because they would train to pass time.

So now that they came early, their excitement raised their impatience, and impatience turned into annoyance, when Kakashi poof-ed into existence they all were glowering at him.

"Hey, you seem in a bad mood" he greeted "sorry I'm late, had to-" "keep it" they growled.

"now give us the nomination cards to enter the chuunin exam" she ordered, he sweat dropped and took them out "turn them in at room 301 by 4pm tomorrow, then enter the first exam" he said, they nodded.

**********

"Good morning Rumiya-chan" Naruto greeted.

"Good morning" she replied.

"Bastard" Naruto greeted.

"Dope" Sasuke replied.

"Let's go" she told them.

On their way up she and Sasuke exchanged glances "Kai" they both said and Naruto blinked at them, Rumiya put her hand on his shoulder and transferred chakra into him, the Genjutsu was broken and they continued their way up.

"Hey Rumiya-chan tell me what happened!" he whined.

"There was a Genjutsu" she said in a 'duh' tone, he pouted with a scowl, they were met with Kakashi in front of the room's door.

"You're early" he greeted, they nodded.

"I believe in you so make me proud" he smiled behind his mask; they smiled and walked in to be met with a scary amount of strangers.

They looked around when something yellow and purple tackled Sasuke "Sasuke-kun!! You're late!" Ino screeched, he looked at her in annoyance "I haven't seen you for a while so I've been waiting in excitement" she said sweetly, she grinned to Rumiya brightly and Rumiya smiled back easily.

"You guys are taking this stupid test too? Don't die…" Shikamaru said making his presence known.

"Oh the idiot trio" Naruto said with a grin.

Shikamaru nodded to him in greeting and did the same with Rumiya.

"Yahoo, Found you!" Kiba called.

"H-hello…" Hinata greeted shyly.

"Well well, everyone is assembled" Kiba noted.

"Geez...you guys too?" Shikamaru asked.

"All 9 of this year's rookies are taking the exam" Naruto grinned.

"I wonder how far we will get…eh Sasuke-kun?" Kiba asked.

"You seem confident Kiba" Sasuke replied.

"We did a lot of training, we won't lose to you" Kiba said.

"You bet, you don't have a chance against us Kiba" Naruto replied, Kiba snorted.

"Hey you guys, you should be quieter" they heard and turned to see a guy with round glasses and silver hair in a low ponytail, from Konohagakure "you guys are rookies just out of the academy right? Screaming like school girls…geez" he complained.

"I'm Kabuto, but instead of that, look behind you" he ordered, they glanced behind to see a team glaring at them.

"These guys behind you are from the hidden rain, they have short tempers. Everyone is nervous about the exam, quiet down before you cause a scene" he advised.

Rumiya raised an eyebrow and nudged Sasuke, she shook her head slightly and he nodded and nudged Naruto, he turned to them and they whipped their heads to the other side of the room, he looked at them in confusion but followed.

"What is it?" Naruto asked.

"He seems annoying, doesn't feel right and his attitude ticked me" Rumiya said.

"He ticked me as well" Sasuke agreed.

"He seemed fine to me" Naruto frowned.

They watched the group from afar to see the man's ass getting kicked by sound Nin.

Then a Jounin and chuunin after him entered the room "thanks for waiting…I'm Morino Ibiki, the examiner for the chuunin exam's first test" he started.

"Hidden sound guys, stop doing as you please before the exam, do you want to fail already?" he pointed at the sound group.

"I apologize…this is our first time…we got a bit carried away" the masked one apologized.

"Bah…here's a good opportunity to say this…there will be no fighting without the permission of the examiner. Even if the permission is granted, killing your opponent won't be tolerated. Those pigs that disobey me will be failed immediately, do I make myself clear?" he barked strictly.

"We will now start the first test in the chuunin exams, instead of your current seating arrangements, you will pick one of these tabs and sit in the seat assigned to you, we will then hand out the exams" he instructed.

Shock filled the room, from Rumiya's point of view, Naruto seemed tense, he was probably surprised that the first test was a written exam; Sasuke seemed thoughtful, Rumiya herself was quite relaxed, she leaned on her desk in memory of that morning…

**********

"It will be unfair if I give you too much information about the test, but I will tell you this, as long as you don't chicken out, you will do fine" Kai told her.

"Never act irrationally, think thrice before you act, everything has a hidden meaning, your quest is to find out what it is, focus on every word you're told, analyze the rules, understand what they mean and what they could mean and the meaning behind them, and most importantly, the Chuunin exam is all about the team" her father told her.

**********

“Do not turn your tests over. Listen closely to what I’m about to say” Ibiki commanded.

“There are many important rules to this first test, I’ll write it on the board while I explain, but question will not be allowed so listen carefully” he began.

“The first rule, you guys will all start off with 10 points, the test is made of 10 questions and each is worth a point but…this test uses subtraction system, basically if you answer all questions correctly, you keep your 10 points. But say if you miss three questions…you will lose three points and will have 7” he inculcated.

"The second rule…this is a team test, whether you pass of not will be determined by the combined score of your teammates, so each team will compete to see how many points they can hold on to form the initial team of totally 30” he indoctrinated.

“The third rule is that during the exam…anyone caught by the testing officers doing sneaky activities, namely cheating…will have 2 points subtracted for every offense” he instructed.

"and the final rule…those that lose all their initial points during the test and those that don’t answer any question correctly…will be failed along with their 2teammates” he finished.

“The exam will last one hour. Ok…begin!” he announced and all flipped their papers.

Rumiya analyzed all the questions, she raised an eyebrow at the 10th but shrugged it off and mused over what he told them the test uses subtraction system…10points per/team member, 30points total, every mistake, a point will be subtracted, if a member gets 0 the whole team will fail, if a member is caught cheating 5times, the whole team will fail she paused and blinked twice why 5times? Shouldn't they fail us immediately? It's like he's giving us a chance to cheat she turned to the Chuunin on the side of the room, scribbling on their papers, a name was called and the whole team was failed like they're giving us a chance to cheat, but if we're not good enough at it, we'll fail she turned back to the questions and noticed something, realization hit her those are Chuunin ranked questions, unless you're Sakura Haruno level in intelligence, I doubt a Genin can answer those she caught a smirk cheating…information gathering… she smirked.

She started answering whatever questions she could, in the end she had 5 she couldn't answer, her eyes wandered around the room in a great speed till she found one she was hunting for chill but tense, writing calmly and clearly by the position of his arm and the pace of his shifting, unlike the others…he's leaving himself open, a clear message that he can handle the test and he's answering with confidence, she focused on his hand and started following its move with feathery font, then she looked at the messed up answers and smirked at the answers she received and started fixing it in a more bold font and clearer sentences, and so she finished the test and flipped it around.

She turned to her teammates, Sasuke had a smirk as he answered furiously, but Naruto was trembling like a leaf, finally the 45minutes were done.

“Okay, and now, we will begin the 10th question” Ibiki announced.

“Now before we start this, I’d like to go over few added rules for the 10th question” he started.

“First, for the first rule, you must choose to take it or not” few complaints were heard.

“If you choose not to take it, your score will reduce to zero and you will fail with your teammates” he exclaimed and more complaints came again.

“And now, the other rule, if you choose to take it…and answer incorrectly…you will lose the right to take the chuunin exam again” he announced.

“What kind of stupid rule is that?! There are guys here who have taken the exam before!” Kiba complained and Ibiki chuckled creepily.

“You guys were unlucky. This year it’s my rules, but I’m giving you a way out, those that aren’t confident can choose not to take it and try again next year” he smirked.

“Now let’s begin…the 10th question” Ibiki said, “those who do not wish to take it, raise your hand, once your number is confirmed; leave" he instructed and many hands were raised.

Suddenly Naruto raised his hand making his teammates jump “I’ll take it!! Even if I’m a Genin forever!! I’ll will myself to becoming Hokage anyway, so I don’t care!! I’m not afraid!!” he barked then sat down, his teammates raised their eyebrows.

He gave us more opponents…that idiot Rumiya smiled in exasperation.

"I’ll ask you again, your life is riding on this decision” Ibiki repeated.

 

“I follow my unbending word…that’s my ninja way” Naruto replied.  
“Good decisions, now to everyone still remaining” Ibiki smiled.

“I congratulate you on passing the first test!!!” he announced.

Rumiya blinked then she blinked again in understanding "oh" she let out then hummed "clever" she murmured with a smirk.

"Hey! Then what were the first nine questions for!? They were pointless then?” the blond girl from the alley asked.

“They were not pointless…they had already served their intended purpose to test your individual information gathering ability…that purpose” he answered.

He started explaining the test and Rumiya listened intently, then he took off his bandana and her eyes widened.

“But…question 10 is the true purpose of this test, let me explain, the 10th question…the ‘take it’ or ‘not take it’ obviously there were painful choices. Those who choose the latter fail along with their teammates. Those who choose to take it would lose the chance to take the test again…a true leap of faith” he smirked.

“Now about these two choices…say you guys became Chuunins, your mission is to steal a secret document. The amount of ninjas, their abilities, etc. is unknown to you, and of course there could be traps set all around you, now do you accept, or not accept? Because you don’t want to die…because you don’t want your comrades hurt…can you avoid this dangerous mission? The answer is no!” he barked.

“No matter what the danger…there are missions you can’t avoid, the ability to be courageous…and survive any hardship, this is the ability needed to become a chuunin captain” he said.

“Those who can’t put their destinies on the line…who cling to the uncertain future of “there’s always next year” …those pieces of trash who can only make such cowardly choices…don’t have the right to become chuunin…that’s how I feel!!” he shouted the last part.

“Those who choose to take it…answered the tough 10th question correctly, you will be able to survive any troubles you face In the future” he smiled.

“You made it through the entrance. The first test of the chuunin exam is now finished. I wish you guys luck” he commended.

“Yeah wish us luck!” Naruto grinned.

Suddenly out of nowhere something came breaking the window, two kunai flew in and hit the ceiling, a sheet hung from them and a woman jumped in and slapped it.

“You guys!! This is no time to be celebrating!” she yelled.

“I am the examiner for the second test!! Mitarashi Anko!! Now let’s go!!” she shouted “follow me!!” she ordered.

“78…?! Ibiki! You left 29 teams?! The test was too easy this time!!” she berated.

“This time…there are a lot of outstanding ones” he smirked.

“Bah, that’s fine…I’ll at least cut them in half in the second test” she grinned sadistically.

“I’ll explain everything once we’re changed places, follow me” she commanded.

*********

“Welcome to the stage for the second test, training ground 44, also known as…’the forest of death’!” Anko exclaimed.

“You’ll find our soon why it’s call that” she cackled.

“Now before we start the second test…there’s something I have to pass out!” she pulled out a stack of papers.

"You must sign these agreement forms, there will be deaths in this one…and if I don’t have you sign these…it will be all my responsibility he he” she snickered sheepishly.

“I’m going to explain the second test, and then you can sign it afterwards. And then each team will check in at the booth behind me” she instructed.

“Ok! I will explain the second test. Simply put…you will attempt the ultimate survival” she started.

“First I’ll explain the areas in which it will take place, around training ground no.44 are 44 locked gates. Forest, river, and a tower in the center, from the gates to the tower is about 10km, during the survival in here, you will be asked to complete a certain task, using your many weapons and Jutsu, you will compete in a…no rules…scroll battle” she said.

“You will fight over there two scrolls the ‘heaven’ and ‘earth’” she showed a black and a white scroll.

“there are 78 people here…meaning 26 teams, half, 13 will get the ‘heaven scroll’ and the other 13 teams will each get the ‘earth scroll’ to pass this test…your team must make it to the tower with both scrolls” she smirked.

“But there’s a time limit, this second test will last 120hours exactly five days” she said.

“Five days?!” Ino fretted.

“What about dinner?” Choji asked.

“You’re on your own. The forest is full of food. Just watch out for man-eating beasts, poisonous insects, poisonous plants…and 13 passing  
is not likely. As the days go on, the distance to the goal will become farther. And the time to rest will become shorter and the area is crawling with enemies. You won’t get much sleep” she answered.

“So not only will some fail by losing the scroll, but some will die from the harshness of this course” she said.

“Now I’ll talk about what will disqualify you. First, those who don’t make it to the tower with both scrolls within the time limit. Second, those who lose a teammate or those who have a teammate killed” she began again.

“As a rule…there is not quitting in the middle, you will be in the forest for five days. And one more rule…you must not look inside the scroll until you make it to the tower” she said.

“What happens if you open it?” Naruto asked.

“That will be a surprise for anyone who does~” she cackled.

“A chuunin will be asked to handle classified information. This is to test your trustworthiness; this is it for the explanations. Exchange the 3 forms for your scroll. Then choose a gate to get ready for the start” she answered.

“A final word of advice…don’t die” she finished, a chuunin came from the booth "it's about time to exchange the scrolls" he said, people lined to the booth.

Rumiya took the time to think 26teams…13teams…120hours…beasts…poisons…fail if team is not complete…there's no way more than 7teams will pass this test at least…the distance between the gates and the tower is about 10kilometres… if we head straight ahead without stop, we might get there before the end of the day…she was pulled out of her thoughts when they walked into the booth.

Sasuke hid the scroll and they went to the gate "the second test of the chuunin exam…now begins!!!" Anko announced and they dashed in.  
They stopped in a clearing "the plan?" Sasuke asked.

"We run full speed to the tower, without any obstacles we can reach there before the day ends, we'll set traps around and we'll wait" she said.

"Wait…" Naruto muttered.

They heard a scream and began their run, after 15minutes Rumiya and Sasuke abruptly stopped on their tracks, making Naruto stop "what is-" he stopped his question at the sight of a man from Oto.

They glared at him "you want my earth scroll right? Since you have the heaven scroll" his tongue slipped out and he swallowed it, their eyes widened.

"Now, let's begin…the battle for each other's scrolls" he said "with our lives on the line" he added and they all froze in the scene of death.

Rumiya glared at him as she trembled with only his KI…this level…who's this guy? Sasuke dropped down puking and Naruto collapsed.

"He he, you can no longer move" the man said, Rumiya breathed in and counted to 10 in her mind, then she put her hands on Naruto and Sasuke's shoulders, they turned to her.

"This is just a KI, don't let it overwhelm you" she said not letting the man out of her sight, he seemed interested as he watched her, then he threw 2kunai at her and Rumiya blocked them, she grabbed their hands and they jumped out of the man's view, she let out a sigh.

"Guys, man up" she told them, they glared and nodded letting out breaths.

"How are you not freaked out?" Sasuke asked.

"Personal training" she smirked.

They all turned around quickly to be met with a snake, Rumiya acted quickly and made hand seals "Lightning Technique: Dragon Blast!" she yelled and the lightning dragon shot and cut the snake in half, their eyes widened when the man slid out of the snake.

"You guys shouldn't relax for even a moment, prey should always be trying their best to run away…in the presence of a predator, that is" he said and slithered up the tree, they all jumped away, the man chuckled and stood up.

Rumiya tensed this man…he's of a too high level…we can't take him…there's no way he's Genin her eyes widened when Sasuke took out the scroll.

"I will give you the scroll, please take it and leave us" he said and Rumiya closed her eyes in acceptance.

"Sasuke what the hell are you talking about?! Why would you give the scroll to the enemy?" Naruto yelled.

"I see, very smart, the only way for prey to escape a predator, is to give the predator a different meal" the man said, Rumiya glared at him.  
"Take it" Sasuke threw it, when Naruto jumped and grabbed it.

"You idiot what are you doing?!" Naruto shouted.

"Do you understand the situation?!!" Sasuke yelled.

Naruto punched him; Sasuke jumped away "what was that all of a sudden?" Sasuke asked.

"I don't know how strong this guy is but…what is guarantee that he'll let us go if we give him the scroll? You're the one too freaked out to understand the situation!" he yelled and Rumiya grit her teeth.

"You are correct!" the man cackled.

"Since I can just kill you and take the scroll" he raised his sleeve, he bit his thumb and spread blood on the seal on his wrist.

"Shut up!" Naruto launched at him.

"Naruto!!" Rumiya shrieked.

"No! Run away Naruto!" Sasuke yelled.

"Summoning Jutsu" the man announced and smoke swirled around him, Naruto's attack was blocked by a large body.

"Naruto!!" Rumiya and Sasuke screamed.

"He he go ahead and eat him" the man permitted.

"EAT SHIT!!" Naruto punched the snake with a scary unfamiliar strength.

Rumiya froze could this be… the man shot a fire Jutsu at him, Naruto collapsed.

"Now it's your turn Sasuke-kun! What will you do!?" he asked, the snake launched at Sasuke and before neither he nor Rumiya could react, Naruto blocked it with his own body, the place went quiet.

"Hey, you alright, scaredy-cat?" he asked, they were frozen in shock.

Then Rumiya stepped forward when the man's tongue picked Naruto up.

"Uwah damn it let me go!" he shouted.

"He he, so the 9-tails brat is still alive, when your emotions are heightened the power of the 9-tails overflows, very interested, oh my…the seal is visible" chakra filled the man's fingers and he made a seal and slammed them on Naruto's seal.

Naruto gasped in pain "Naruto!" Rumiya called, the man threw him away and Rumiya threw a kunai to pin him to a tree, she glared at the man and charged at him, easily dodging his tongue, she aimed punches and kicks but he dodged them all in a scary speed.

"This style…those eyes" the man chuckled.

"You're his sister aren't you?" he asked and her eyes widened and she jumped away in time to avoid his tongue his…his? This man is…oh my god horror filled her eyes Orochimaru…

He continued to watch her intently "I remember him well, Rei-kun wasn't it? He was a special one, so skilled, so talented, second best medic in the world, he even survived my gift, I planned to use him, but he had to learn all that information and retreat, he had to kill himself not to hurt his teammates eh? You could say he was a true Konoha Shinobi, I wonder if you're like him? I wouldn't mind adding you to my collection" his insanely amused grin made a tremor run through her and render her speechless at the memory.

Sasuke charged and threw Kunai and Shuriken at Orochimaru but they all were dodged, then he clang to a tree and threw a Fuma shuriken but it too was dodged, then the kunai in his hand set alight, he threw it, just then did Rumiya see all the wires attached to the weapons, they returned back and Orochimaru turned around and caught the Fuma shuriken between his teeth, he had a smirk on his face.

"Fire Release: Dragon Fire Technique" Sasuke made a hand seal over the wire; it set on fire and hit Orochimaru's face.

"To be able to use the Sharingan so well at this age, you truly are the man that carries the Uchiha blood" the man's mask fell apart.

"Just as I thought…I want you" he hissed.

"I had fun testing your powers" he said "you really are brothers, I sense power in your eyes that surpasses Itachi" he said, Sasuke's eyes widened.

"Who the hell are you?!" Sasuke yelled.

"My name is Orochimaru, if you want to see me again, then survive and pass this exam" he said.

He took out his scroll and burnt it, suddenly Sasuke and Rumiya couldn't move.

"Of course, defeating my men, the sound trio on the way" he made a hand seal and suddenly his neck stretched and his head shot up.

Rumiya gasped when he bit Sasuke and retracted, Sasuke screamed in agony.

"What did you do to him?!!" she thundered.

"Consider it a gift" he said before disappearing.

Sasuke stayed tense under the great pain, when it settled down with a seal appearing on his neck he let out a blood chilling scream.

"Sasuke!" Rumiya called, he continued to scream.

"Dammit Sasuke!" she called frantically.

He fell on the ground still screaming, his nails digging into his arm, he groaned out before blacking out.

Rumiya breathed shallowly, feeling panicked, she jumped and picked Naruto then returned to him and picked him and jumped out of the area.

Finally she found a caved in large tree bark, she laid them inside and examined them, Naruto looked to be asleep, while Sasuke twitched, jerked and shuddered with a pained expression, she tried to heal him but it only made it worse, it had something to do with his Chakra, she looked through her medical kit and rummaged through it, finally she found a pain killer syringe and injected him with it, a while later he looked better, she started feeling drowsy and shook her head and looked through the pouch, she found a bottle of energy pills and took one, the sun began to rise and Sasuke wasn't getting any better.

************

Her head whipped to the forest when she sensed a presence close by, she narrowed her eyes, she saw a squirrel and noticed the explosion tag on its back, she threw a kunai at it and it ran away.

Then a team jumped out "we came to fight Sasuke-kun" the man with bandages on his face said, she recognized them from the 1st exam.

Rumiya's eyes narrowed and she stepped out I have to make this quick she stood in a ready stance.

The girl threw a Senbon at her and she flicked it with her hand, she jumped at her and aimed a punch but Rumiya blocked it and kicked her in the stomach, she elbowed her on the back of her head and she dropped unconscious.

She smirked and turned to the guys "you little bitch" the scrawny one sneered and pointed his palm at her, quickly she jumped out of the way.

She dashed at him and they engaged in a Taijutsu battle, he realized quickly that she was winning so he jumped back and cursed at her; he pointed his palm at her quickly and launched his technique before she could dodge it.

She gasped at the head splitting headache and felt blood in her ears and collapsed down, they started chuckling and she felt her conscious waver.

She covered her ears, mostly from the pain and partly to heal them but they didn’t need to know that.

She heard the girl waking up and bitching at her, she heard her walking to her and raising her foot to kick her, but before it landed Rumiya jumped and landed her own kick to the girl's face, breaking her neck, she dropped once more.

She turned to the guys and glared "Lightning Release: Violent Lightning Dragon!" she made the hand seals.

The dragon erupted and launched at the guys before they could dodge it, tearing them apart and crisping them.

She stared at their corpses in a dull daze for a long moment, she felt bile rising but her throat closed in, her breath caught in the middle, she staggered on her feet and collapsed on her knees, she gasped and dug her fingers in the ground, she let out a shuddering breath and her jaw clenched, she put her palm to her forehead and sighed slowly, swallowing the lump in her throat she slowly stood up.

Her head turned back to where she noticed familiar presence, she heard a yelp from Ino then turned to another farther team but ignored them and went to the masked guy and started rummaging through his clothes till she found it, though a little burned, but still intact scroll they needed.

She went back to the cave and collapsed with a groan, feeling dead tired and hollow after her first kill.

********

"Bastard!" Naruto thundered and Rumiya jumped with a kunai in hand, then she sighed when she saw the confused Naruto.

"It's already ended Naruto" she breathed.

"Oh" he blinked and turned to Sasuke "what happened to him?!" he freaked out.

Rumiya frowned and sighed "we need to move, I have the earth scroll, let's get to the tower and find someone who can help him" she said, she picked Sasuke up and nodded to Naruto, they stepped out of the cave for Naruto's breath to hitch.

The Oto team lied next to each other under a tree bark, looking worse than than the moment they were killed, Naruto turned to Rumiya slowly, she met his eyes for a moment before something flashed in her eyes and she turned away.

He was about to speak when he noticed her trembling hands and glazed eyes, his mouth clicked shut.

"We should get going" he suggested and she nodded, they both started a run, halfway through the day they stopped to eat by the river.

"Sasuke!" Naruto cheered when Sasuke's eyes finally started to open.

He tried to move and winced, groaning he sighed "what happened?" he whispered.

"After he bit you he retreated" Rumiya answered.

"How much time has passed?" he asked.

"It's late morning on the 2nd day" Rumiya bit into her fish.

She turned to his fish and handed him one, he blew at it and took a bite "it's been one day and we're like this, and now we're in the 2nd day, how are we going to get a scroll?" he asked.

"I already got one" Rumiya said, he looked up with a blink.

"Orochimaru sent us a team, but I defeated them and took their scrolls" she explained.

"Did you interrogate them?" he asked.

"They're dead…" she shrugged nonchalantly, they fell silent, Naruto looked at his fish and Sasuke stared at them in shock "I did it" Rumiya informed taking another bite.

Sasuke stared at her intently, how was it she killed them? A team attacked and she killed them? Just like that? How could she say it so easily? How did she do it? Even he still couldn't do something like that, taking a soul, his brother was something and everyone else was another deal, and here Rumiya was easily telling him she killed three people and eating like it happened everyday, he knew Rumiya, if he didn't know his family he would've easily stated that she was the most unsympathetic person he's ever met, that was why they were best friends, she was unlike all the emotional girls he's met in his life, she was strong and firm like his mother, with a sweet gentle brightness, but he never would've expected her to murder.

Then he noticed more things, her tight grip on the fish, her curled toes and clenched jaw, her clenched body, her blank expression, her dull orbs, her cognac colored orbs like honey swirling in a jar, now they were dull, blank, darkened, and he knew she didn't just easily kill three people, she had to kill three people, and immediately he felt guilty because he wasn't there to protect her, to do it instead of her even.

Sasuke turned to Naruto "he did something to you too" he told him changing the subject.

"Chakra disruption seal" Rumiya answered.

"But why would he do that?" he asked looking at Naruto suspiciously.

"Let's move on, we need to get to the tower as soon as possible, I'll explain when we get there" she said.

He growled and nodded; he tried to move but groaned collapsing.

"Are you okay?" Rumiya asked, he nodded and tried to move but groaned and collapsed.

His two teammates looked at him in worry; finally he calmed down and panted heavily, his heart pulsing in an unhealthy fast rate.

"Are you feeling better?" Rumiya asked and he nodded tiredly.

Rumiya gave him a painkiller pill and he swallowed it, then she supported him with her shoulder and they began moving again.

*******

In a couple of days they reached the tower, quickly they ran inside "finally!!" Naruto cheered.

They took out the two scrolls and opened them at the same time, they jerked back when smoke erupted, soon it turned out to be none other than Iruka, and he grinned to them.

"You made it!" he smiled happily.

“Heh…I see” Sasuke said and they turned to him.

“If we had to open the scrolls during the test…where were you going to do Iruka-sensei?” Sasuke asked.

“as always, you are sharp Sasuke, as you may have figured out…this test’s rules are set up to test your ability to perform missions correctly…so if you were to break these rules and open the scrolls, you would be put up in a condition of unconsciousness for the remaining of the test period. Those were my orders” Iruka answered.

"Please Iruka-sensei, we need to meet the Hokage-sama, call Kakashi-sensei and Ren" she asked.

He nodded and led them into a room, they were met with the Hokage sitting in his office, he turned to them and his eyes brightened then he frowned when his eyes landed on Sasuke.

"Are you okay Sasuke?" he asked, Rumiya helped him sit on a chair and sighed.

"We were attacked by Orochimaru" Sasuke said.

His eyes widened then they narrowed "he was targeting Sasuke" Rumiya said and glared at them.

"This is supposed to be a very important event with important people coming, how is it that such a dangerous criminal can easily make his way into the exams like this?" she asked angrily.

Just then Ren and Kakashi walked in "Rumiya" he ran to her side "are you okay?" he asked.

She nodded then turned to Sasuke "Orochimaru gave him that seal" she frowned.

He turned to Sasuke who showed him his neck, Ren sighed.

He nodded and ran a hand through his hair "this is the same seal" he sighed, she looked up.

"Is Sasuke going to die?" she asked weakly, the temperature in the room dropped "no, he's still alive" he answered.

"Y-you mean he could've died?" Naruto asked in panic.

Ren nodded grimly "we already did studies on the seal, it feeds off the victim's chakra so it weakens them till they use it, it raises the power of the victim to make them desire more of it, it's filled with dark Chakra so it raises the want to kill when it's used, disrupting their psychic energy" he explained.

Sasuke's eyes widened with realization, as did Rumiya's and Kakashi's.

"Do you know ways to remove it?" the Hokage asked.

"No, to remove it Orochimaru has to be completely eliminated, but we made our studies, we have a counter seal that gives him full control of it without it affecting him in any way" he answered and turned to Sasuke.

"He gave Naruto a Chakra Disrupting seal" Rumiya informed, he nodded and turned to Naruto.

"Show me your seal" he ordered, Naruto raised his jacket uncertainly and tried to mold Chakra, then Ren slammed his fingers at it, Naruto gasped and jolted back, he breathed heavily a little but then he stood straight "it's off" Ren said, he gave a glance to Rumiya and she turned to Sasuke, he too turned to Sasuke.

"Let's go" he helped him up; he nodded to the Hokage and they left the room.

"What does he want with Sasuke?" Rumiya turned to the Hokage.

"His body" the voice of Anko answered, they turned to her, standing at the door, and she walked in and shut it.

"His…body?" she asked, she nodded.

"The last Uchiha, most powerful Dojutsu with a lot of potential, he plans to have him as his next body" she answered.

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked.

"It's part of his immortal plan, he transfers his soul into other bodies after the former body weakens, though they only last 3years, but it's all based on the power of the body, and to him an Uchiha is the perfect way to become the strongest man on earth and master all Jutsu and become immortal" she said darkly.

"He probably planned to give him the seal so he craves more power, especially with his situation" she shrugged.

"That fucking bastard!!" Naruto yelled angrily, he and Rumiya jumped at the harsh scream from the room next door, they tensed at the knowledge it was none other than Sasuke, another scream came after and Rumiya's jaw clenched.

"I'm going to kill that bastard!" Naruto promised in frustration.

The screams continued till it went completely silent and the tension in the room by that time was literally suffocating.

"Now kids, why don't you let the adults solve this problem, we'll go grab a snack and then go to Rumiya when she wakes up" Kakashi said cheerfully, but they both were in a too bad mood, they just left the room to be met with Ren carrying an unconscious Sasuke away.

"Is he going to be okay?" Naruto asked, Ren turned to him and smiled slightly "yes" he answered.

They walked up the tower and through the halls and finally into a room "you will be staying here till the exam is finished" he told them.  
They nodded and looked around; it looked like a normal apartment, with a small kitchen and a dining table, a couch and a small TV, and 4doors.

Ren tucked Sasuke in bed in one of the rooms and walked out "he will be awake by tomorrow, don't worry about him, meanwhile, you can go explore the tower, there are 5teams in here, one is a rookie team" he told them, they nodded.

"I will take a shower" Naruto informed before going to the bathroom with a grin, Rumiya snorted at him and turned to Ren who was leaving.

Before he left Rumiya grabbed his arm, he turned to her, she frowned worriedly.

"Don't worry" he smiled.

"What if he can't handle it? What if it corrupts him?" she whimpered.

"He's still alive, and he's still sane, and now with the seal I put, he will be alright" he clasped his hand on hers.

She continued to stare at him, looking for assurance "are you worried about Orochimaru corrupting him?" he questioned and she nodded.  
"You know Sasuke more than anyone in the village, you shouldn’t doubt him" he chuckled.

She stayed silent for a moment "it's because I know Sasuke that I'm worried" she sighed.

"Then you will have to stay by his side, I'm sure he needs his siblings to ground him down in the village" he smiled fondly, she blinked and thought about it for a long moment.

"Sasuke already opened his heart Rumiya, and as long as you stay by his side, it won't get the chance to re-close again" he whispered, she  
looked into his eyes and smiled with a nod, he nodded back, she let his sleeve go.

"Relax for today, tomorrow are the preliminaries, you need your full energy" he advised and she nodded, he gave her a last smile before leaving.

She peaked into Sasuke's room; he was sleeping soundly and breathing deeply, no sign of pain on his face.

A knock on the apartment's door made her leave the room to see Kakashi walking in with a bag in his hands "hello there, I brought you spare clothes, I assumed you wanted to shower" he said.

"Good thinking" Rumiya said taking the bag, she rummaged through it and found her clothes.

"Do you need any medical checkup?" he asked and she shook her head.

"I healed all my wounds, Sasuke's and Naruto's too actually so we're good, we'll just take a rest today" she answered, he nodded.

"Guess I'm not needed then" he shrugged, she nodded.

They stayed silent for a moment "I'm proud of you" he smiled, she looked at him and he patted her head, she gulped feeling tears sting her eyes but she just nodded and smiled.

*******

"Come back stronger okay? I don't feel like humiliating you in the last exam" Rumiya chuckled.

He nodded with a grin and turned to Jiraiya "I'll see you in the last exam Rumiya-chan!" he bid and they left the village, she sighed when he disappeared and turned around, trying to prepare her mentality for whatever training Kai will be giving her.


	4. Bonds and Chains

Sand left Gaara's gourd and Sasuke jumped back, Gaara began whispering to himself, Sasuke threw shuriken at him but the sand turned into a clone of Gaara and caught it.

Sasuke jumped and aimed for a kick but it was blocked, he aimed his forearm to his neck but it was caught in the sand then he palmed the head and it burst, Sasuke charged at the real Gaara but the sand was about to stop him but he disappeared and reappeared behind him.

he punched Gaara and the boy flew down, Sasuke stood coolly and flicked his hand in motion for the guy to come at him then he dashed behind him again and aimed for another kick that sent the redhead flying back, then he dashed again and kicked him again, he grabbed his top and kneed the boy then Gaara stood up and formed his sand barrier.

Sasuke charged with a punch and gave it and spikes of sand jumped out at his way, Sasuke hopped back and Rumiya noticed the blood on his knee.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto yelled they turned to him.

"What's up?" Kakashi asked.

"Stop this fight now! He's totally different from us!! He's not normal!" he shouted and Rumiya's eyebrow rose.

"What do you mean Naruto-kun?" Ino asked.

"He lives to kill! Anyway at this rate! Sasuke will die!" he yelled.

Rumiya turned to the battle and her skin tingled at the Chakra forming around the dangerous boy.

"Well don't worry, we weren't late for nothing" Kakashi said.

Sasuke aimed for a kick but it was blocked, "what do you mean late for nothing?" Ino asked.

"Hn…you want to know?" he answered.

"Look! We have no time for this!" Naruto bellowed.

"Be quiet and watch" Kakashi ordered.

Sasuke jumped to the wall and made hand seals.  
"No way…is that?" Gai asked.

"And this is not the only thing I taught him this month" Kakashi said.

"Are you sure Kakashi-sensei?" Rumiya asked he turned to her.

"He can make the Chidori only 3times a day, I'm sure it will destroy the sand, but the rest of it might destroy his hand, there's a chance it won't touch Gaara, and that will be in Sasuke's disadvantage, if not from a destroyed arm then from Chakra exhaustion, not to mention…" she paused with a glare.

"That boy isn't afraid to kill" she said darkly.

"We can only hope for the Chidori to hit him so he can't use his sand fast enough to break Sasuke's arm" she said, they nodded.

When Sasuke finished preparing the Chidori he charged at Gaara, it destroyed the sand and plowed inside.

All leaned forward to see what happened, it went silent.

"My blood!!!" the chilling scream from Gaara was heard, the sand clenched on Sasuke's arm, but he pulled it away fast enough, a hand shaped sand swiped out but it collapsed with Gaara's sand, he was wounded in the shoulder.

Suddenly a Genjutsu was set on the stadium and Rumiya dissipated it.

An explosion at the Kage booth attracted her attention then explosions started booming all over Konoha, enormous snakes attacked and masked Nin launched, Anbu and Jounin quickly fought back.

"Nine traitors" Gai said.

"An invasion" Rumiya asked and Kakashi nodded.

"It seems the sand and sound allied to betray us" he answered, she nodded.

"What do you order?" she asked, then her attention turned to the sand siblings who ran away and Sasuke who followed, she turned to two nin who attacked her and easily defeated them.

"A great number but all are weak" she noted.

"Rumiya" Kakashi called, she turned to him "I want you to wake the others, this is an important mission" he commanded.

"this is an A-ranked mission, Sasuke is in pursuit of Gaara, you're to nullify the Genjutsu on Naruto and Shikamaru and track Sasuke down" he said whilst pulling a kunai and slicing his thumb.

He made hand seals and she went to wake Naruto and Shikamaru, she turned to him when a poof materialized and a small pug appeared.

"This guy, Pakkun will be able to track Sasuke down by his scent" he told them.

"I didn't want to attack, who cares about Sasuke" Shikamaru muttered.

Rumiya blocked a coming kunai and glared at him.

A guy was about to attack them but Gai caught him and pinned him to the wall and punched him through it.

"Now I'll restate your mission! Once you've heard it, escape through this hole" Kakashi yelled.

"Chase after Sasuke, join him and help him" he restated.

They nodded and jumped through the wall, on their way Rumiya explained the situation to Naruto.

"I gotcha, that Sasuke, he's too anxious" he muttered.

"So why am I being assigned out like this?" Shikamaru asked.

"It's Kakashi-sensei's orders" Rumiya answered.

They followed Pakkun's lead when he turned "hey guys, pick up the pace" he said.

"From behind, two squads with 8, no…one more, 9men are chasing us" he informed.

“Don’t look as if they’ve got a fix on our true position yet but they’re closing in on us quickly while on the lookout against any surprise attacks” he said.

“Geez, they might be beyond chuunin level” Shikamaru complained.

“Then should we ambush them?” Naruto asked.

“We’ll certainly have a great advantage if we were to ambush them! Even if they’re twice the number” he said.

“It’s no use. They’re subordinates of Orochimaru, a former Konoha Shinobi, y’ know” Pakkun said.

“Geez…” Shikamaru muttered in irritation.

“What?” Naruto asked.

“You don’t get it, ok listen up! Sure an ambush is a basic tactic that’s very favorable to the user but there are two necessary conditions that must be met, the first is that those fleeing must move without making noise and discover the enemy first! The second is to locate and quickly conceal themselves in a place and position where you can take them off guard and ensure you cause maximum damage to them, only then both of these conditions are met without doubt, will the ambush become effective” he explained.

“It won’t work” Rumiya deadpanned, Naruto turned to her in confusion.

“They’re all probably ninja who have mastered the art of hunting in Konoha, hunters who will have been taught the geography of this land and practiced mock combat for this battle” Shikamaru explained.

“Even with that, there’s too many undecided factors involved, to begin with, the enemy’s a ninja squad that’s been organized for this place.

There’s one thing that we can do now” he said.

“we need to create a diversion that looks as if we’re going to ambush them…one of us will have to remain behind and…delay them by faking an ambush” he said.

“A decoy” Rumiya stated.

“That’s right…if they’re stalled they won’t be able to locate the remaining three…if we do this we’ll be able to lose the trackers…but the one who stays behind will probably…die” he said.

"So who's going to do it? The dog's necessary to chase after Sasuke, in which case…" he trailed off.

"I will…" but Naruto was cut off "I guess I'm the only one" Shikamaru said.

"At your level, it's too dangerous" Rumiya said, he smirked.

"It's better than being annihilated isn't it?" he asked, she glared at him.

"Besides, if you think about the guy that can fulfill the job of the decoy successfully and be the most likely to survive then…I'm the only one in this bunch who can do it" he said.

"Because the Kagemane Technique was originally a Jutsu used as a delaying tactic you know" he said stopping in his tracks.

"Well! I'll catch up with you later on so hurry up and go!" he yelled.

"Shikamaru! We'll be depending on you!" Naruto shouted.

"Let's move faster" Rumiya said.

"Hey, the enemies are coming closer and closer" Pakkun said.

"He's got a bad mouth and an act like everything is a pain in the neck but he's not someone who'd betray us!" Naruto said.

"The pursuers stopped moving" Pakkun informed.

"There's someone else besides us chasing Sasuke!" Pakkun yelled.

"Enemy or alley?" Rumiya asked.

"I don't know…only…it's not human" he answered.

They jumped faster and in minutes they reached the location and saw both boys with their backs to each other.

Rumiya noticed Gaara's strange shaped arm and jumped to Sasuke, Gaara was about to charge but Naruto jumped and kicked him.

She started healing Sasuke "you okay?" she asked.

"Yea, I managed to wound him with my Chidori, but I'm at my limit" he answered.

"Rest, we'll take him" she said.

"Who's this?" Naruto asked.

"Gaara" Rumiya answered.

"Mind you I'm not a battle type" Pakkun said.

Sasuke stood up and glared at Gaara.

"You guys get away!" Naruto shouted and Gaara charged at them.

Rumiya pushed Sasuke back and made hand seals "Lightning Release: Dragon Blast!" she announced and the dragon flashed at Gaara.

He jumped back screaming, he started transforming more into the demon sealed inside him and his wound started to heal visibly.

He continued screaming and sand shot at her, her eyes widened when it hit her, forcing the breath out of her, she hit a tree and the sand  
tightened on her.  
She gasped for air and struggled to get out of the murderous grip but couldn't move an inch.

She watched her teammates fight the crazed sand boy, she glared and tried harder, struggling for breath all the while.

She gasped and panted for air, her vision doubled and tripled, a loud ringing voice hit her ears then everything turned black.  
******

 

Rumiya sighed as the maid fixed her black Kimono, she finished and stepped back, they both looked it over.

"That's good" she murmured, the maid nodded and left her room.

Rumiya followed and went to the entrance hall, more members of the clan lined up there, soon her father came and they left the compound, they went to the cemetery where all of the villagers and Shinobi were standing, the clan members lined up beside the Hyuuga and the funeral began.

Rumiya reached Kakashi's house in time to see Gai carrying him inside.

"Gai-sensei!" she called and he and the other two turned to her.

"What happened?" she asked, they exchanged glances.

"Follow us" Gai instructed she followed them up.

They tucked Kakashi in his bed and Rumiya checked him.

"He's good, but it's like he's in a coma" she said.

"That's what it is" Kurenai replied.

"Who did this?" she asked.

"Have you heard of Itachi Uchiha?" Asuma asked and her eyes widened.

She gulped "I…knew him on personal basis" she answered, they nodded.

"We heard of that, he's the one who did this" Gai said.

"Why?" she asked.

"That's quite the S-ranked secret" Kurenai answered.

"Is it related to Naruto being a Jinchuuriki?" she asked dreadfully.

"How do you know?" Gai asked.

"He told me" she answered.

"Well, that's true, Itachi Uchiha joined a rogue organization after the massacre, this organization is after the Bijuu" Asuma said.

She tensed and processed what they told her and ran a hand through her hair.

"That's…" she whispered an organization with the goal of capturing Jinchuuriki? Seeing Itachi with them…Itachi is already an S-rank missing nin, for him to join that place…Sasuke already told me before that Itachi said he slaughtered the clan for power…could it be that’s the reason? If that’s so…then all of the nin in that organization are high ranked not lower than A-rank…Naruto is in that much danger…

"Sasuke mustn't hear of this" she whispered.

"Where's Naruto?" she looked at them.

"He's with Jiraiya-sama, he took them so they look for the next chosen Hokage" Kurenai answered.

She nodded "I'll leave now" she said and left the apartment.

She was met with Sasuke and jumped.

"Rumiya? What are you doing here?" he asked.

"I came looking for Kakashi-sensei" she answered.

"Same objective" he replied.

"Ah, he's not there though" she said.

"Really? I haven't found him anywhere" he said.

"Let's continue looking for him then" she said, he nodded with a raised eyebrow and they left the district.

*******  
Days later Naruto was finally back.

"But then the guy made this strange black fire and it ruined Ero–sennin's Jutsu!" he finished.

"That was lucky" she whispered.

"Be careful Naruto" she warned he nodded.

"Ero-sennin wants me to leave with him" he blurted out.

She blinked "what?" she asked.

"He said he wants to train me, and partly it's to protect me" he lowered his head.

"Go with him then" she said, he looked up.

"Really? You think I should go?" he asked.

"Sure, you will get a chance to get your own personal teacher" she nodded he will be much safer...

He beamed "right!" he cheered, she nodded with a soft smile.

**********

"I was attacked by a strange group" Sasuke murmured.

"What were they like?" she frowned.

"They worked for Orochimaru" he answered.

She glared at the ground "what did they tell you?" she asked.

"If I wanted to be as strong as they are, I have to go to Orochimaru" he said.

Her eyes traveled to his seal mark "what do you think?" she asked.

"Of course I'm not going, that bastard thinks I will actually follow him" he answered.

She nodded "we should tell the Hokage, if this group easily entered the village, then truly we're not doing good" she said and he nodded.

********

"Welcome" Ino greeted with a grin then stilled and her grin dropped when she saw Rumiya "h-hi Rumiya" she smiled lopsidedly.

"Hi" Rumiya looked over her behavior to look at the flowers "what would you like?" Ino asked.

"Two Daffodil bouquets please" she answered with a smile, Ino nodded and proceeded to work, they fell into an awkward silence.

"Umm, did you know Sakura started training under medical-nin in the hospital?" she queried.

"Really?" Rumiya asked and Ino nodded.

"yeah, and she actually requested from a medic to train her, said she heard from a jounin that she could be a great medic with her Chakra control, so she decided to step away from the Shinobi work and went to be a doctor instead" she said, Rumiya nodded.

"That's good, she would've been a serious waste of potential otherwise" she said, Ino nodded and handed her to the two bouquets.

"For who?" She questioned nervously.

"Mother and brother" Rumiya smiled, Ino nodded and Rumiya left, on the road her smile faltered, images of Kin's neck snapping, the guys' bodies burning, Ino's fearful eyes flashed in her mind and her grip on the bouquets tightened, it wasn't new really, it happened before, Ino couldn't speak without squeaking in the preliminaries, she freaking forfeited immediately when their names appeared on the screen, Choji never approached her since and Shikamaru couldn't look her in the eyes.

And she saw a worse look on even worse people, Naruto's face when he saw them almost made her have the breakdown she was about to have if it wasn't for the watching teams, Sasuke was the only one acting normal about it and for that she was grateful, she didn't need people looking at her in fear, she wasn't a serial killer who killed for fun, she was defending her life and team, if she didn't kill them they would've killed her and more people, they were the serial killers who killed for fun, not her, she knew that, but why did the images hunt her.

**********

"Now blow the candles" Kakashi said.

Sasuke scowled and Rumiya nudged him, they blew together and Rumiya grinned.

"Please don't tell me you wished to get revenge on Itachi" she teased.

"No" he replied dryly, she giggled.

"To the gifts" Kakashi said.

The two youngsters went to get their gifts and Kakashi placed two boxes on the table.

They came back and Rumiya handed Sasuke a pot "this is an indigo rose plant" she said, his eyes widened.

"Oh, those only grow in Suna" Kakashi commented.

"That seems expensive" he murmured.

"Nothing too much on me" she said, "thanks" he muttered and handed her his gift.

She tore it open and blinked then her eyes widened and started sparkling.

"I wanted to have this book for such a long time!!" she cried.

She turned to Sasuke with tearful eyes "I love you!!" she squealed and hugged him tightly; he looked away with an awkward expression.

"Well, that's sweet, time for my gifts" Kakashi chuckled.

They turned to him "this is yours, and this is yours" he handed each their gift.

They tore them open and their eyes widened.

"Those gloves have Chakra enhancing fiber, they will make your hits 3times stronger" he told Rumiya and her eyes glowed.

"And this Tanto was my father's, he gave it to me when I was younger but I rarely use it, and I want to give it to you" he told Sasuke and his eyes widened more.

They exchanged gazes and Rumiya grinned and Sasuke smiled.

"Thank you" they thanked, he nodded "happy birthday you two" he said.

Rumiya hugged her gifts and grinned "I have the best team" she said, they smiled to her.

********

"Please take care of me!" she said with a deep bow, they nodded "well, now that Sakura is an official member of team 7, how about a spar to see her skill?" Kakashi said and Rumiya nodded and smirked at Sakura who gulped.

********

Rumiya sighed tediously as she watched the droplets race, she sighed again and dropped on her back "boring" she groaned, then a light bulb appeared on her head and she grinned, she sat up and rummaged through her book and CD shelf, she grabbed the movie she was hunting and threw it on the bed and started changing.

"Let's watch a movie!" she announced and he blinked slowly, she took the moment to examine him, his hair was disheveled, he was wearing a sweat shirt and pants.

"Oh you were napping" she said, he glared; she grinned and let herself in.

"I was bored out of my mind so I thought we could pass time together" she said.

"Don't you have other friends?" he growled.

"They aren't as fun as you are" she giggled I would've went to them if they weren't avoiding me like the plague.

"What do you have?" he sighed as he set the DVD.

"The new Princess Yukie movie" she answered and he nodded and set it up.

They turned the light off and brought the popcorn and sat on the couch as the movie began.

"Really, I love your TV" she gushed, he grunted.

The movie started and 35minutes later it was close to its end.

"Say Sasuke, what would you do if you met Itachi?" she asked suddenly.

He turned to her surprised and thought about it "I might charge at him without thought" he answered.

"But you do realize he's an S-ranked nin, probably stronger than Orochimaru" she said.

"What brought this up?" he frowned.

"You know how Kakashi-sensei disappeared for a week, and we were told he was on an urgent mission?" she asked.

"That was a lie" she blurted out.

"What?" he asked.

"He had a battle with Itachi, and he used the same technique on him as the one he casted on you that night" she said.

His eyes widened and his memory went back to the day he was looking for Kakashi and how Rumiya was very flustered about him going into his apartment.

"You kept it from me" he accused.  
"Sasuke I knew you will go looking for him without thought, and I knew you're no match for him now so I couldn't risk it at that time, no one could" she frowned.

"What did he come back for?" he glared.

She averted her gaze from his glare and sighed.

"You were recently told of Naruto's status as Jinchuuriki" she stated, he nodded.

"The organization Itachi joined, they collect the Bijuu, and so they're after Naruto" she answered, his eyes widened in dreadfulness.

"That's the main reason why Jiraiya-sama took Naruto to travel with him" she sighed.

He lowered his head and he couldn't even think straight anymore, he ran his hands through his hair and let out a miserable breathe.

"Sasuke" Rumiya whispered.

"He told me I have to kill my best friend to get power, but he's after that best friend as well" he whispered and her eyes widened, then her expression softened and she smiled before clearing her throat.

"Anyway, you really believe that?" she asked, he looked up with confusion.

"Do you really think the one who destroyed your life will give you advice on how to get revenge against him?" she asked and he glared.

"Why did he let you live anyway? It's quite weird" she said.

"He said I was not worth killing" he answered angrily.

"Why would he care? If his goal is power, why would he care about who's worth it and who's not? He wanted to slaughter his clan, if it was about his strength, he killed them easily all by his own, they were weaker too, and they were adults, you were a child, that's quite fishy" she said, his eyebrows knitted.

"Why would he let me live? He wants me to kill him" he murmured.

"that's what's confusing, it's as if he's pushing you to kill him, if I didn't know better I would think he was begging you to hate him and kill him, if he really doesn't care about either the clan or you, why bother?" she replied.

"It doesn't matter…I hate him for what he did" he said.

"I don't believe Itachi did it for power" she spoke.

"I knew Itachi, you knew him better than I did, Itachi was a pacific kind-hearted person, I still can't imagine that he did it" she said, he continued frowning.

"Rei-niisan once told me" she said, he perked up.

"That in his beginnings, other Shinobi believed Itachi won't succeed as a Ninja because he was too kind" she said.

"Of course he proved them wrong big time, but the point still stands that he really was kind" she said.

"Then why would he kill them, I saw him do it" he said.

"Tsukuyomi wasn't it?" she asked, he nodded.

"the technique he casted on you, Kakashi-sensei told me all about it" she said "the Mangekyo Sharingan, you activate it when you experience the death of your most important person, either seeing them die or killing them, the techniques users have differ, two of Itachi's are the Tsukuyomi and the Amaterasu" she said.

"Tsukuyomi puts you under a strong Genjutsu influenced coma in which you experience your worst fears for 72hours" she said, he nodded.

"As always, giving you so much information" he muttered.

"I kind of forced it out of him" she replied dryly then cleared her throat.

"but Genjutsu is illusion, and Tsukuyomi shows you your worst fear, there's no guarantee he actually did it, maybe he showed you what he wanted you to see" she said and his eyes widened.

"think logically, Itachi was 13, a prodigy or not, there were other Anbu Uchiha in the clan, and there were Jounin and Chuunin, even if he ambushed them, there's no way they couldn't fight back, and you said Itachi was unharmed, that's quite impossible for even him" she said, his eyes narrowed.

"The Mangekyo…" he let out "when did he activate it?" he asked gripping his hair tightly.

"That returns us to the point that he might've activated it when he had to kill his parents" she replied.

"Shisui" he whispered "Shisui was his best friend, but there were rumors that he killed him" he said, she frowned.

"So it's like that" she sighed "I still believe he couldn't have done it" she murmured.

"Think of Itachi before he massacred the clan, do you believe he could've killed Shisui to get power?" she asked, he started trembling and didn't answer.

"Itachi has always been a mysterious person, he never spoke his thoughts, why he killed the clan, how he did it on his own, why he let you live, why he told you to hate him, why he told you to gain the Mangekyo Sharingan, those are things we probably will never have the answer to" she said.

"All you need to do is continue to protect Konoha, protect your friends and train to get stronger through protecting the people precious to you" she advised.

"You once told me you wonder how Naruto got so much stronger in such a short time, it's because he has people he wants to protect" she smiled.

"Naruto is your most important person right?" she grinned.

"And Itachi wants to hurt him, don’t you think you will be at your strongest against Itachi when he tries to hurt Naruto?" she asked and he nodded with a determined expression.

“I want you to put reviving the Uchiha clan as your first priority” she said.

“You do this for your clan, you used to love your brother and admire him, but it was ‘cause he massacred the clan that you hate him, so you want to avenge it, that means that your clan is more important” she said and he nodded.

"You do this for the love of your clan so don't taint that devotion with that blinded hatred" she said.

"I'm sure that will make your parents proud" she smiled sweetly.

"next time you meet, you will ask for answers, and then you will fight him, not because you hate him, but because you love your clan, and because you loved him, because he put you through the pain of hating him, I want you to fight him to protect those important to you, I want you to mock him and tell him that you gained your strength through protecting your best friend, not killing him" she said.

He thought about it before he smirked with a fiery glint in his eyes "I will" he said.

She smiled sweetly and he smiled back "do you know what that means too?" she asked.

He blinked twice "you have to open your heart" she said.

"You have to let yourself love people, from now on, you will live for the love of those important to you, so you become stronger and stronger, the more people you want to protect, the harder you try to protect them and the stronger you get, and when the time comes that you battle Itachi, you will fight with the strength you gained from those you love, while you're fighting him, you will remember your clan, you will remember your most important people," she grasped his hands.

"And you will remember the former Itachi, and you will fight so you find out what happened to Itachi that turned him that 180o that night, and you will defeat him, but what will you do after?" she asked.

"I will find my answers" he answered confidently "and based on those…I don't know" he added.

"What about forgiving him?" she asked.

"But…I can't…after what he's done" he answered.

"What if his answer made you think otherwise?" she asked.

"Then, maybe I won't" he frowned.

"See? That means that deep down maybe you don't really hate your brother, it's just anger from his betrayal" she said, he didn't answer.

"And that means, that revenge won't truly make you happy" she said, his eyes widened.

"And when he gives you his answer, you could just walk away, revenge doesn't mean you have to kill, you know, actually the best revenge you could take on him is for you to forgive him after he ordered you to come kill him" she said, he sighed and gripped his head.

"You can take your time to think about it, and I will accept, as will everyone whatever decision you make" she said, he was still in thought and she rested her head on his shoulder.

"no matter what, Naruto, I and Kakashi-sensei will always support you, you're our precious Sasuke, and we will never let him hurt you, so never worry, no matter what you decide, we'll follow" she promised.

"…what if I die in my battle with Itachi?" he asked.

"No matter what Itachi did, I believe and I'm sure, he will never hurt you, because no matter what he thought and why he did it when he massacred the clan, I know for sure he loved you truly, and I think that's why he left you alive, so I know he won't truly hurt you fatally, he will never intend to kill you, no matter what he makes you think" she frowned that's what I think anyway…

"We didn't finish the movie" she noted, he sweat dropped and turned the TV off, she sat straight.

"Let's make dinner" she said, he nodded and they headed into the kitchen.

"Do you have rice?" she asked.

"Of course" he answered.

she nodded and explored through the kitchen to get the ingredients of the rice balls.

"I'm going to make them a little spicy, that cool?" she asked and he nodded.

"I thought you didn't know how to cook" he commented.

"not really, there are only few selective things I can cook, canned food being the most of them, then simple easy meals, just for the sake of missions" she said, he nodded.

15minutes later they were ready and they dug in, on the first bite Sasuke spat it out and chugged on a glass of water "what's this?!!" he yelled.

"What?" she asked and took a bite.

"It's good" she said as she chewed.

"It's tangy!" he yelled.

"Really?" she asked, he looked at her dryly.

"Well, take those, they're less spiced" she said handing him 3riceballs.

He bit into one and sighed "if that's spicy to you? What's chili to you?" he asked.

"well, it's the secret sauce of our main chief, Kazuma-san, that's pretty hot, he puts it on his spicy curry, damn that turns us into fire breathing dragons!" she said almost drooling.

He sweat dropped again and she chuckled "sorry for that, I'm used to making them for my cousins, and as you probably know all of us worship spicy food" she said.

"Dragons who breathe fire" he muttered.

"Yea, something like that" she giggled.

"Though why is it that your style is based on dragons?" he asked.

"Well, dragons are wise pacific creatures who hide power behind their fiery eyes, they strike strategically and think before acting, it's the strongest martial art, combining raw brute strength with internally damaging skills, that's why we're equal to the Hyuuga, we have a stronger fighting style and they have the Dojutsu" she answered.

He seemed caught in thought at her answer "you're wondering why your clan is the strongest right?" she asked and he jumped and cleared his throat.

"Well, other than you having the strongest Dojutsu, with your Dojutsu you're capable of easily going around our fighting styles" she said.  
"Without your Dojutsu you couldn’t be more special than any of the other Shinobi clans in Konoha" she answered, he scowled at her and she grinned.

"But the best clan is the Senju" she said, he grunted.

"They have no Kekkei Genkai, they have no special fighting style, and just with their will they became the strongest clan and defeated the clan with the strongest Dojutsu" she said with admiration.

"But do you know what that means?" she asked smugly, for some reason he dreaded the answer.

"It means that Naruto can become stronger than you" she said.

"What?" he asked dumbfounded.

"Don't you know? Uzumaki are relatives to Senju, they used to live in Uzushio in the land of whirlpools before it was destroyed by other villages before the 2nd war because they were too dangerous" she said, his eyes widened in surprise.

"What were they strong for?" he asked.

"Well, other than their life longevity that enables them to live through the most dangerous wounds and illnesses, and most of them being Chakra sensors, they were the most powerful clan in Fuinjutsu" she answered.

He blinked twice "don't tell me you never heard the story of Mito Uzumaki" she said, he frowned and shook his head.

"Well, on the fight between Madara and Hashirama, Madara controlled Kyuubi to fight Hashirama with it right?" she asked and he nodded.

"Hashirama was capable of holding Kyuubi down with his wood techniques, but he couldn't defeat it, so Mito Uzumaki took it upon herself to save her husband and with her powerful scary skills in Fuinjutsu she sealed Kyuubi into herself by herself" she said, his mouth went 'o' and he chewed on his rice ball.

"Do you know that she lived till the last generation?" she said.

"That's impressive" he said, she nodded.

"Pretty cool, those Uzumaki, they could easily be the strongest clan in the world, if not for them being almost gone" she grinned, he nodded.

"Who was the Jinchuuriki before Naruto?" he wondered.

"His mother" she said simply.

"How do you know?" he asked.

"Because she was the wife of the 4th Hokage" she smirked.

"You mean…" his eyes widened and she nodded.

"It's been kept secret to protect Naruto, you know the fourth's reputation, and with him being Jinchuuriki, that will put him under the eyes of enemies" she said, he nodded.

"Does Naruto know?" he asked, she shook her head "father warned me not to tell him" she said, he nodded.

"I learnt so much today" he muttered flatly.

"Yeah, the movie was full of morals" she giggled, he glared at her dryly then smirked slightly and continued to eat, she followed.


	5. Akatsuki vs. Konoha

"Gaara…? Why did you let Naruto go?" Rumiya asked.

Tsunade didn't answer.

She and Sasuke exchanged glances, he nodded and she turned to Tsunade "we'll go back them up" she said.

Tsunade glared at them then sighed "there's no stopping you" she said, they nodded and left her office, as soon as they reached the gates Sasuke summoned his hawk, Hoku and they flew to Suna.  
*********

They went past Suna and searched, finally they spotted team Gai's members scattered, they turned to the river to see smoke coming out of an almost destroyed cave mouth, then explosions started going off ahead.

Sasuke spotted Naruto and Kakashi "those are Naruto and Kakashi" he informed.

"That means Sakura is down there, how can they leave her like this?" she replied.

"Follow the guys, I will see Sakura and follow" she said, he nodded and she jumped off, midway in the air she made a few fun flips and landed on a log then skipped into the cave "Sakura" she called.

Sakura and another woman turned to her "Rumiya" Sakura sighed.

"So, where's your opponent?" she asked and turned to the lady.

"Hello, I'm Rumiya Takiyama, jounin of Konoha and former teammate of Naruto and Kakashi, it's a pleasure to meet you, you must be Chiyo-sama, Temari-san reported the situation to us on our way here" she introduced, the old woman nodded.

Rumiya turned to Sakura, Sakura pointed at the man on the ground, Rumiya pushed it to see its face and blinked "he's a puppet" she noted dryly, they nodded.

"He seems young" she commented "face of 15, actually 35" Sakura clarified.

"Wow" Rumiya sweat dropped "well, let's go" she told them and stepped out of the cave.

Rumiya jumped and landed on a high branch, then turned to Sakura and Chiyo.

"I'm going to go ahead" Rumiya jumped ahead, landing on a log a kilometer away, she continued jumping, she frowned at the explosions, she saw Sasuke get closer to the now she saw a blond person, she saw Sasuke and that person collide, they dropped off their birds and she cursed and jumped quicker, they all entered the forest and her eyes narrowed, she reached the forest soon after and looked for them, her eyes widened when a great explosion erupted, "Sa…" she uttered, but as soon as it appeared it disappeared, as if it never happened.

She ran as fast as she could to that location, all were standing there, but Gaara was in Naruto's arms, she frowned and turned to Kakashi who shook his head, she cursed.

"What about the enemy?" she asked.

"Dead" Sasuke confirmed, she nodded, she noticed Sasuke's glare towards Kakashi but pushed it to the back of her mind.

Sakura and Chiyo finally came and they moved to another area, Rumiya healed them all then examined Gaara, she shook her head.

"Why?" Naruto questioned, she turned to him to find tears in his eyes.

“Why? Why? After he became kazekage..." Naruto asked.

"Calm down, Uzumaki Naruto" Chiyo said.

"Shut up!" Naruto shouted.

"It's all because of you...shinobi of the Sand! If you didn't seal that demon in him! This wouldn't have happened! Do you know how much pain Gaara bore?!" he cried.

"What is Jinchuuriki? Thinking you're better than us...shunning us, using us..."he sobbed, they all looked down.

"I couldn't save him...I trained hard for 3years...nothing changed..." he whimpered.

Chiyo crouched down and all turned to her, she began healing Gaara.

"What are you doing?" Rumiya asked but received no response.

"What's she trying to do?" Naruto asked.

"Is this?" Gai asked.

"Yes" Kakashi answered.

"What are you trying to do?!" Naruto yelled stepping forward but Sakura stopped him and shook her head.

"Sakura-chan" Naruto griped.

"She's bringing Gaara back to life" she answered, a tense breeze passed.

"Bringing him to life?" Naruto asked.

"Can she really do it?" he asked.

"It's a special Jutsu Chiyo-baasama knows" she explained.

"really?!" he asked excited, Chiyo's chakra weakened, it almost stopped but she started over, then it weakened again, Naruto moved and watched her from upfront.

"Shit…I don't have enough Chakra" Chiyo muttered, Naruto dropped on his knees.

"Please, use my Chakra" he offered.

"You can finish this then, right Baa-chan?" he asked.

"Put your hands upon mine" she told him, he complied and they restarted.

"I'm glad someone like you was born in this shinobi world made by stupid elders like me" She began.

"All I did in the past was wrong, but now in the end it seems I can fix the matter" she smiled.

"Suna and Konoha will have a different future than in the past" she looked up.

"The mysterious power you have that Kakashi talked about, that power will have a great influence on the future" she told him.

"Become a Hokage in a way no one was able to before" she instructed.

"And you Sakura" she called.

"Yes" Sakura replied.

"The next time, save someone you care about, not an old witch like me" she told her.

"You and I are similar, there are not a lot of girls with your will and loyalty" she praised.

"You will surpass your teacher as a medical-nin Kunoichi" she commended, Sakura let out silent tears.

"And you Naruto, here's a request from an old lady, you're the only one who understands Gaara's pain, and Gaara understands yours, please, save Gaara" she requested.

Naruto looked at Gaara and closed his eyes, Rumiya looked at Sasuke in question, he nodded slightly and they lowered their gazes.

Gaara sat up and Naruto placed his hands on his shoulders.

“Gaara” Naruto smiled.

“Naruto…” Gaara stared with wide eyes, then he looked up to the army of suna-nin who came to his rescue.

“They’re…” he trailed off.

“They’re people who came to save you” Naruto explained.

One of the girls came screaming, “Gaara-sama! Are you alright?!” she asked, he nodded bewildered, she grinned, everyone cheered.

Naruto patted his shoulder “you made a big ruckus” he grinned.

“I admit” Kankurou walked to them “you made me worry, younger brother” he crouched.

“Who do you think you are, you both?! Gaara is the kazekage!” Temari berated.

“Show some respect, punks!” she scolded, they both scowled and she pushed Naruto away.

“Gaara, how are you feeling?” she fretted, he tried to stand but couldn’t.

“You shouldn’t move, your body can’t take it” she said.

A guy cried, “thank god…I was scared if the Kazekage died…” he sobbed, the same girl who screamed bonked him on the head.

“What are you saying? It’s impossible for the Kazekage to die!” she slated angrily, then she went into fan girl mood.

“Gaara-sama is cool, strong, hot, powerful…” she swooned.

“Right, right, and he’s cute too, also he’s the Kazekage~” another girl joined, the first one pushed the guy away and stepped forward.

“Next time I will save Gaara-sama” she promised.

“No, I will” the long haired one replied.

“No! I will!” the girl yelled.

They squealed and ran to him.

“Get away pig!” the long haired one pushed Naruto.

Naruto grumbled and Kankurou walked to him “don’t get down over it, girls always swoon over the hot ones, the dumb ones are always stronger that’s how it is” he crouched down.

Naruto sat up “I feel Shikamaru told me this sentence before” he muttered.

“Thanks, Naruto” Kankurou thanked.

“You should thank Baa-chan there, she saved Gaara by a special ninjutsu” Naruto replied.

He turned to Chiyo “she’s unconscious now, but she will be alright when she’s back to the villa-“

"No, you’re wrong” Kankurou cut off.

“She used…that Jutsu” Kankurou frowned.

"I’m wrong? Why?” Naruto queried.

“It wasn’t a medical ninjutsu, it was a life transferring one, Chiyo-baa died” Kankurou answered, Naruto’s eyes widened.

“Life transferring Jutsu?” Tenten asked.

“What do you mean?” Naruto asked.

“It’s a ninjutsu that allows you to bring someone to life with exchange of yours” Kankurou answered.

“No way” Tenten gasped.

"Gai-sensei…” Lee called, Gai nodded.

“In the past, the puppets team was searching for a way to bring puppets to life, Chiyo-baa was responsible for it, they understood the theory later. But they decided that the technique was too dangerous and they forbade anyone from trying it” Kankurou explained, Naruto stood up slowly.

“Really?” an elderly man spoke “it seems to be a living face that I think she will burst in laughter in any moment” he said.

“Right…right!” Sakura cried hugging her tight.

“Naruto, you really are a weird person” Temari wondered.

“You have the power to change people, Chiyo-baasama always said she didn’t care what happened to the village, she wasn’t the expected person to save Gaara” she said.

“Chiyo-baasama put the future in your hands and Gaara” Kakashi told him.

“An honor full death, fit for a Shinobi” he said.

“Just like the third” Naruto said.

“Right” Kakashi replied.

“I understand now how she felt” Naruto whispered.

Gaara moved and the short haired girl freaked out “I’m fine” Gaara said.

He stood up slowly and Naruto moved to support him, they stood across from Chiyo "let's all pray for her" he said all lowered their heads in prayer.

They started walking back to Suna and heard the sounds of its people before they even saw the gates.

"What a great welcome" Kankurou grinned.

"Awesome!" Naruto laughed.

"There's a great amount of people" Lee noted.

"To be expected for the Kazekage" Rumiya and Neji spoke, all of the sand people ran to welcome them.

"I'm very happy to see you back" Baki greeted.

"Thank you all" Gaara thanked.

"Naruto Uzumaki, we all thank you greatly" Baki thanked Naruto.

"I didn't do anything worth thanking" Naruto rubbed his neck sheepishly, obviously liking the attention.

"Please come in" Baki welcomed, everyone moved to make a passage.

"Then, let's go in" Kankurou stepped forward.

"Wait, let her pass first" Gaara looked at Chiyo's corpse.

"Right" Temari agreed.

"Let's pray for Chiyo-baasama, a silent moment" Baki announced, all stood in prayer.

“Eh? You’re going back this quick?” Kankurou questioned.

“Yeah, you can stay another night” Temari offered.

“We’d like that, but…” Naruto replied.

“There are important things we need to tell Tsunade-shishou” Sakura explained.

“Also, after Akatsuki attacked suna, it stirred out worry to Konoha” Kakashi added.

“Then you want to go back as fast as you want” Baki nodded.

"Right" Kakashi answered.

“But your condition” Baki argued.

“It’s alright, I have a capable friend” Kakashi replied.

“Right!” Gai agreed.

“By the way, we sent a hawk to your village to inform the succession of the mission” Baki informed.

“But we didn’t send any information about Akatsuki, shouldn’t you send it?” he asked.

“I will give them a report directly” Kakashi answered.

“Also, there’s something I’m worried about” he said, they went to Chiyo's grave before leaving.

***********  
"Ah, look at how much you grew Naruto" Rumiya examined him, he grinned.

"I missed you" she pinched his cheeks.

"Rumiya-chan!" he whined, she let him go and smirked.

"It seems you finally took that step into the road to adulthood" she said with pride, he grinned.

"I doubt that, he seems to be the same dope he used to be" Sasuke replied and Naruto's grin fell.

"You bastard! I'm not a dead last anymore!" Naruto yelled.

"Who's the only Genin in the 9 rookies?" Sasuke taunted.

"Naruto Uzumaki is" Rumiya chortled.

"Rumiya-chan!" Naruto whined.

She shrugged with a flat expression "you're teasing material, one can't help but poke at you" she grinned, he glowered at her.

"You always side with him" he muttered.

"Hey, I never take sides, if he wasn't saying the truth I wouldn't have sided with him!" she replied, he groaned.

"I hate it when you do that!" he cried, she and Sasuke smirked to each other.

"Well, team 7 is back" she extended a fist, Naruto grinned, Sasuke smirked and they shared fist pumps.

"Ah! I'm so happy!" Rumiya giggled merrily.

"What about me?" Kakashi asked.

"And me?" Sakura asked.

"Of course, of course, we can't forget the supporting cast" Rumiya said.

They gave her dry faces, the other two snickered "now stop that, we can't ignore the important roles of you in our story" Rumiya hugged Sakura.

"We all make the great team 7 plus 2" she smirked.

"You're hopeless" Sakura pushed her.

"Now, now Sakura, we've been teammates for 2years, don't be insecure, Kakashi told me about the test you passed with Naruto despite you never working together" Rumiya chuckled, Sakura kept sulking.

"Really, the Uchiha matriarch shouldn't sulk like a child" she gave her a suggestive look and Sakura flushed.

"R-Rumiya!" she hissed.

"The what?!" Naruto barked.

Rumiya smirked to him "well, they're still in denial, but we all know it" she explained.

Sasuke glowered at her and she stuck her tongue at him while Naruto went blue.

"Aw Naruto-chan, don't sulk, you have a princess waiting for your call" she told him.

"What?" he blinked.

"Still as oblivious as ever" she smiled.

"Well, you will know her, ah…eventually…someday…" she trailed off "I hope" she whispered.

"A princess!!?" Naruto's eyes sparkled.

Rumiya nodded "a beautiful and powerful princess at that, but she's just shy to admit it" she answered.

His tongue fell out and he started drooling dreamily "a princess…" he giggle, she sweat dropped.

"You could've added that she was a Shinobi clan princess" Sasuke said.

"Ah well, we can just hope for him to see what's poking him in the face" she replied.

"Unless she admits it out loud and clear, he wouldn't know if it punched him in the face" he scoffed.

"I guess you're right" she sighed.

*********  
"Hello" they turned to the new face.

"I'm Yamato, the replacement for Kakashi, we will be doing a mission soon, so if you'd introduce yourselves" he introduced.

"Naruto Uzumaki!" Naruto answered.

"Sasuke Uchiha" Sasuke answered.

"Rumiya Takiyama" Rumiya answered, she observed him openly and he stared right back.

"Our mission is to catch the Akatsuki member in Orochimaru's organization, it's a chance to find more information about Akatsuki and Orochimaru" Yamato reported.

"If we succeed we'll find plans to defeat Orochimaru" he explained, they all nodded.

"Good, good, that's the spirit, we will leave as soon as you finish packing" he smiled.

They nodded and separated from him, Sasuke turned to Rumiya "very suspicious" she said simply.

Naruto turned to them questioningly "about Yamato, he's suspicious" Rumiya clarified.

He frowned and scratched his head in thought "I didn't think so" his eyebrows rose with a shrug.

"Think about it idiot, I and Rumiya are Jounin, Sakura is Chuunin, the four of us make a full team even without Kakashi, why would Tsunade-sama appoint someone else as our leader?" Sasuke explained.

"Right…" Naruto scowled "so why?" he blinked, they sighed.

"Why would Tsunade-sama send us on such a dangerous mission? What if it's a trap by Akatsuki? Or Orochimaru, that puts you and Naruto in danger" she looked at Sasuke, Naruto tensed.

"We're the strongest pair in Konoha, and with Naruto back we're the strongest team, it's obvious, and only I can take on Orochimaru" he answered.

"Then why do we need Yamato-taichou?" Naruto asked, they both paused and locked gazes.

"Keeping it at bay…I thought only the Sharingan and wood techniques could do that" she murmured.

"Kakashi used a seal tag to stop the flow of its Chakra the last time" Sasuke replied, she nodded.

"Well, we'll find out eventually, for now let's go pack" she smiled to Naruto, he nodded with a smile and they separated.

"Good, now we team Kakashi are ready to go" Yamato said.

********  
"Teme!! Do you want to fight?!" Naruto shouted.

"Bring it on dope" sasuke replied and they smacked their heads together in lightning glares, Rumiya watched from behind them in amusement.

"Is it always like that?" Yamato asked.

"All the time" she answered.

"I thought you were the best team when it comes to teamwork" he said.

"We are, but that's only on battlefield" she replied.

"But this is quite the serious mission, especially with Sasuke…" he trailed off.

"Not at all, I'm more worried about the other" she said looking at Naruto, she and Sasuke exchanged glances, she understood that he could hear them.

"It seems Tsunade-sama told you?" he questioned.

"No, we figured it out" she smirked, he blinked twice and she gave Sasuke a smirk which he returned with a nod.

"You're smarter than I thought" he noted, her smirk widened.

"What are you two whispering about?" Naruto asked.

"We've been talking about going to the hot springs for the night" Yamato answered smoothly.

Naruto grinned and beamed "awesome!" he cheered.

Rumiya let out a pleased sigh and rested her head back, she stared at the night sky and her brain started its engines.

Sasori of the red sand…Orochimaru the former Akatsuki member…the spy who works for Sasori…this mission could be a trap by Akatsuki…Akatsuki…Itachi Uchiha…Kisame Hoshikagi… and 4 other members…all S-rank…they go on pairs: Double S …if this isn't a trap…the spy himself will be powerful of course…but we can take him on easily if it's just the spy…if it's a trap by Orochimaru…it will be troublesome…but it won't be impossible for us to defeat them, Sasuke by himself can defeat Orochimaru…the problem is if it was a trap by Akatsuki... she sighed feeling a headache rising.

She stood up, put her kimono on and went back to the room to see Yamato sitting with weapons set on the table.

He turned to her "Rumiya-san" he acknowledged.

"Well, didn't we expect that?" she sat down.

"You knew I was Anbu?" he asked.

"A person who can keep Kyuubi at bay must be Anbu to not be worldwide famous" she explained, he smiled then they frowned.

"Do you really think that what Sasori told Sakura was true?" she asked.

"I'm not sure, she was the one who fought him, and Tsunade-sama believes her, we only obey orders" he answered.

"Do you have a plan?" she asked.

"If Sasori doesn't come out, the spy won't come out" he answered.

"But you never met him" she replied.

"I already went through that with Sakura-san" he explained.

"What do you have?" he asked.

"Not a thing, just a few scenarios of what might happen" she answered, he nodded for her to continue .

"Scenario A: there's no trap, we will capture the spy and the mission will be a success" she started.

"Scenario B: it's a trap by Orochimaru, Sasuke alone can defeat Orochimaru so there are no worries" she said.

"Scenario C: it's a trap by Akatsuki" she paused and sighed.

"between protecting Naruto and trying to fight the S-ranked ninja, it will be extremely dangerous" she said.

he nodded "true" he said, they were cut out of their thoughts with a knock.

"Come in" Yamato answered, a host opened it.

"Would you like us to start preparing your dinner?" she asked.

"Yes please" he replied, she bowed and closed the door, he turned to Rumiya.

"You're right in every word, if we make perfect plans for each of these scenarios, we will succeed" he said, she nodded.

"Whoa! This looks delicious!!" Naruto grinned; he walked around the table and sat down with drool on his chin.

"Yamato-Taichou" Naruto called.

"What is it Naruto?" Yamato asked "can we really eat this?" he asked.

"Eat all you want" Yamato nodded.

"Thanks for the food!" he thanked and grabbed his chopsticks.

Sasuke and Rumiya followed with quiet murmurs of thanks.

"If we could eat like this in every mission, Yamato-Taichou can stay in team 7 forever!" Naruto cheered.

"You will make him lose his money" Rumiya said.

"So you're the one who pays for all of this? You're very generous!" Naruto yelled.

"I decided to let Yamato-Taichou become our leader forever!" he announced, his teammates shook their heads.

"It's time" Yamato stopped and they stopped, he looked around for a moment before going through the forest.

"Why are we going this way?" Naruto asked as he passed under a branch, Rumiya and Sasuke jumped over it.

"Why did we go through this path?" Naruto asked again.

"To explain it simply, the information Sakura gained might've been a trap, Akatsuki could be waiting for us near the bridge and remember Naruto, they're targeting you" Yamato answered.

Naruto tensed "no way" he mumbled.

"We're not sure, but we have to be careful" he told them and continued walking.

"Till we reach the bridge, we will avoid the roads as much as we can" he told them, soon they reached a clearing.

"We'll camp here" he announced.

"Here? If we were to camp, we could've camped in the cave we passed earlier" Naruto replied.

"Stay away" Yamato instructed.

He made hand seals "wood release: four posts house" he said and wood erupted from the ground, it formed a huge house and 3 pairs of eyes went wide wood? How? He's not even Senju…who's this guy? Rumiya and Sasuke's thoughts were identical as they watched him suspiciously.

"We'll camp here tonight" he told them.

"I wouldn't call it camping" Sasuke muttered.

Naruto grinned and ran inside, they watched the inferior in awe.

"Wow!" Naruto said, they walked up the stairs and saw the post that welcomed them, Naruto opened the door of the only room curiously.

"It's less filled than I imagined" he said but he ran and owned a spot and sat down.

"If only we have hot springs" he said dreamily.

"Your imagination is running too far ahead" Rumiya said, she owned a spot and put her backpack down, she took off her sandals and head protector.

Yamato came in with a candle and Rumiya closed the windows and they all grouped around him.

"our mission is to arrest the target, the most important thing is to not kill the target, this is not simply kill the opponent mission, if we kill the opponent mistakenly, we will lose a very important information source, because this mission is very sensitive, I will make the first move and you will support, the strategy is simple: I will go meet the target disguised as Sasori, if I catch him, the mission is complete, if it turns out to be a trap by either Orochimaru or Akatsuki, you will join, I will give you a sign when I do need you, if we do go through the second scenario I want you to move through the partner formation" he instructed.

"Partner formation?" Naruto asked.

"I mean whenever one of you charges, his partner supports him, the rule here is that each partner supports his partner, do you understand?" Yamato explained.

Naruto chuckled nervously "y-yea, of course" he answered.

"Simply, we will go in pairs, and our task will be to have our partner's backs" Rumiya simplified.

"Ah" he said, they all nodded.

"Anyway, the spy might be very skilled so we have to be careful" Yamato said.

"Yes" they replied, he stood up and went to the window.

"I don't know where Orochimaru's hideout is, but I'm sure his spy is on his way to the heaven and earth bridge" he frowned.

*********

He walked slowly to the bridge, he hid his face then started walking over it, she did the same as slowly, when they were right across from each other they stopped for a minute before she raised her arm.

Naruto and Sasuke charged, Naruto started with few kicks and punches, Sasuke started with Shuriken that showed Yamato's face when they slashed at him, they charged again and started a hand-to-hand combat.

Sasuke threw two Fuma Shuriken at him and Yamato jumped away, but the weapons followed him through his wires, he quickly used Kawarimi and disappeared, the boys tailed him and Sasuke charged with weapons again.

Naruto prepared his Rasengan and when he was about to land it Yamato jumped away just to be met with Sasuke's Shuriken, Naruto joined the battle again and kicked a badly slashed Yamato and Sasuke charged with his Tanto.

They cornered him and he let out a defeated sigh, they backed away and smirked to each other, Rumiya walked to them.

"Told you they have the best teamwork" she said.

"I admit I doubted it, but now I thank god it wasn't a real battle with you in it" he chuckled.

She started healing him, "alright, we should get going or we'll be late" Yamato said and they began walking again.

The target finally appeared in their sights as he made his way over the bridge, when he reached the center he waited for a minute before Yamato came out, he approached him slowly, they both stared at each other and talked but the teammates couldn't hear what they said because of the howling wind.

"When will we charge?" Naruto asked impatiently.

The spy showed his face and all tensed.

"This is a trap" Rumiya glared, they talked for a bit and Yamato was about to attack but Orochimaru suddenly appeared and they tensed.

Kabuto suddenly attacked Yamato but he dodged it.

"Now" Rumiya said and they jumped in, Orochimaru charged his snakes at him but Sasuke cut them.

"Oh, this brings back memories" Orochimaru greeted.

"My Sasuke-kun, look at how you've grown, you must've became so much stronger" he said with hungry eyes.

Sasuke's Sharingan swirled angrily.

Orochimaru turned to Rumiya "ah, Rumiya…right?" he started, she glared at him.

"How are you dealing with my gift?" he asked, her glare intensified.

"It's a wonderful gift, I have to admit" she replied.

"Of course, although Ren-kun didn't seem to think so when I gave it to him" he cackled.

Hatred seeped inside her and she twitched and itched to use the seal but refrained and kept under control, she turned to her teammates and cursed when she saw how angry Naruto was, his whisker-marks were already darkening.

he and Sasuke charged at the same time, but Orochimaru fought them off easily, they engaged in a hand-to-hand combat, then Sasuke used his Tanto against him but as it turns out he's a master in Kenjutsu as well.

The fight was fierce and Rumiya turned to Kabuto, he turned to her and stood in a ready stance, she charged.

he dodged her punch and it did a good job at destroying a part of the bridge, she assaulted again in a much faster pace, he made the biggest mistake when he blocked her attacks, she destroyed his arm and transmitted lightning into her fist, she hit again and he was much slower, she started landing hits easily, and soon he was on the ground unable to move, she pulled out Senbon and hit him on the neck with them, causing him a temporary death.

she turned to the bigger battle to see even Yamato has joined, and Orochimaru was losing against Sasuke's Sharingan and Naruto's power, it was then that he started transforming, he turned into a gigantic snake made of small white snakes, Sasuke cut off Orochimaru's neck and his head flew off.

They stared at him for a moment before Naruto let out a breath.

"We did it" he smiled to Sasuke who smirked back.

Rumiya smiled but their eyes widened when Orochimaru jumped at Sasuke and devoured him.

"S-Sasuke!!" Naruto screamed, panic wrecked through Rumiya and she ran to them, but as soon as Sasuke was devoured be emerged out with a disgusted face.

"Sasuke" Naruto breathed.

"We did it this time" Sasuke said nonchalantly.

Rumiya almost collapsed as she crouched on her knees "damn I almost had a heart attack" she whispered trembling a little.

"We did it" she finally spoke, they turned to her and she smirked "Orochimaru died under your hands" she said.

Sasuke smirked and Naruto grinned.

"Well, great work, I was deemed useless in this mission" Yamato praised, they turned to him.

"I'm going to seal Orochimaru's body, this will surely have a lot of information" he said, they nodded and he proceeded with the sealing.

"And Kabuto?" Naruto asked, Rumiya pointed to his corpse.

"I put him under a temporary death spell, he can't move his body at all and I cut off his Chakra circulation" she told them.

"To expect from Rumiya-chan!" Naruto said.

"Team 7 is undefeatable" she grinned.

"Yea" they agreed and they group fist pumped.

********

"Any news of Akatsuki?" she asked.

"A pair attacked a monk temple at the fire temple" Tsunade answered "I just sent a team from the 20-platoons to capture them" she added.

"Who went?" Rumiya asked.

"A team consisting of Shikamaru, Asuma, Kotetsu and Izumo, and a back up team consisting of Ino, Choji, Aoba and Raido" she answered.

Rumiya nodded "well, let's hope they come back safe" she said.

"How about the other Jinchuuriki?" she asked.

"Another two were kidnapped" Tsunade answered.

Rumiya nodded "well, as long as they don't lay hands on Naruto, we're still safe" she said, Tsunade nodded.

*******

Rumiya looked at the picture solemnly and glanced at Konohamaru who was comforted by Naruto, she sighed and walked away with her clan members.

"Why didn't they count us?" Rumiya asked.

"They were in a rush" Tsunade snorted, Rumiya clicked her tongue "bastards" she muttered.

"Typhoon Water Vortex Technique!" Naruto and Yamato announced as they blocked the man's attack.

Rumiya and Sasuke landed and looked at the group.

"Rumiya, Sasuke, go back Shikamaru up" Yamato ordered.

Kakashi summoned Pakkun and they followed it, they found Shikamaru standing upon a hole filled with chopped human parts, they heard a curse and turned to see a head with white hair and violet eyes.

They blinked twice, the head cursed and the teammates went blue.

"Rumiya, Sasuke, meet Hidan, the immortal" Shikamaru introduced.

they went silent for a moment before a nausea hit them and they shuddered "how is he still cursing? His vocal chords are cut off" she muttered.  
"I don't care, move away" Shikamaru replied and they backed away.

Shikamaru threw a Kunai-bomb into the hole, it exploded and Hidan was buried alive.

"Come on, since you're finished with this one, let's see how the others are doing" Sasuke said and they went to see the creepy man on the ground unmoving.

Rumiya turned to Naruto "well, did you do it?" she asked.

"What does it seem like?" Naruto smirked, he turned to Shikamaru and they exchanged smiles.

Rumiya dashed to him and examined him, and started healing him.

"The Jutsu Naruto used was so cool!" Ino applauded happily.

"Yea, it was like, Rasenshuriken and then he threw it at him" Choji agreed excitedly.

Rumiya smirked "it's Naruto" she said.

"Well, let's take this one and head home" Kakashi said and they all nodded.


	6. Mystery of Itachi Uchiha

"I want to go search for Itachi" Sasuke announced.

She eyed him for a long moment then nodded "do you have a plan?" she asked.

"No" he frowned.

"Well, did you tell the Hokage?" she asked.

"Yes, she was very vacillated about it but I convinced her" he answered.  
"Well, we need to pack up, when are you going?" she asked.

"You're…going?" he blinked.

"Of course, what did you think?" she replied.

"It will be dangerous" he narrowed his eyes.

"Sasuke, when I told you we'll always support you did you think I was lying?" she smirked, he shrugged.

"Well, when are you going?" she asked.

"Tomorrow" he answered.

"Oh, did you tell the rest of the team?" she asked, he shook his head.

"Well, let's go" she stood up; he nodded awkwardly and paid before the left.

"Well, did that come by surprise" Kakashi said almost sarcastically in a 'duh' tone, his students looked at him dryly.

"I'm joining him" Rumiya notified, he blinked twice.

"Did you take the Hokage's permission?" he asked, they nodded.

"Well, I won't stop you, and I assure that I support you" he smiled, Sasuke nodded, Rumiya grinned.

"Well, we have Naruto to tell" she said, Kakashi nodded.

"I'm going-"

"No you're not" they replied together.

"What?!! Why?!" he yelled, they gave him identical eyebrow raises.

He groaned "come on! Seriously!" he yelled.

"No, it's too dangerous" Rumiya replied, Naruto glared at them, they responded with their flat expressions.

They continued the staring fight for a whole minute before he succumbed "come on!" he whined, they shook their heads.

"Naruto, I and Sasuke will go Itachi Uchiha hunting, and you're not joining us, case closed" Rumiya said.

"Why are you always like that?!" Naruto screamed.

"You always leave me out of your plans! Am I not a member of team 7 too?! Aren't we supposed to be friends?!" he bellowed, they stiffened.

"Naruto it's not like that" Rumiya frowned.

"What is it like then?! I realize that you think of Sasuke as a closer friend! But that doesn't mean you have to leave me out!" he replied.

"I never considered Sasuke a closer friend than you" she glared.

"Yea!? I can clearly see that!" he glared back, she flinched.

"Naruto" Sasuke stepped forward.

"What?!" Naruto yelled then he sighed.

"Alright, I get it, I will back off, I'm obviously an obstacle in your plan" he turned around and walked away, his teammates exchanged glances.

"Naruto" they called but he didn't stop, they followed.

"Naruto it's not like that, really, we're just worried we can't risk taking you with us" Rumiya said.

"That's part of the reason" Naruto replied and her eyes widened, she glared at him and grabbed his arm.

"You look at me when I talk to you" she growled, he turned to her with a hurt expression.

"I never thought of Sasuke a closer friend than you are" she avowed, he scoffed.

"Naruto, did we ever keep a secret from you?" she asked, he didn't answer.

"don't just go around coming with stupid conclusions when you don't know any of what we're thinking, if you weren't chased by them we would've taken you" he told him, Naruto lowered his head and closed his eyes, finally he opened them and sighed.

"I…I guess I overreacted a little…" he whispered.

"Sorry guys" he chuckled weakly.

"I guess I will stay here, all alone, you go after Itachi, I'm sure you will kick his ass! And you will need Rumiya-chan too, I know, you will be lost without her hah?" he told Sasuke, Sasuke frowned.

"Sorry Rumiya-chan" Naruto apologized to her.

She stared at him with a frown "yea" she smirked, he nodded and she hugged him.

"R-Rumiya-chan?" he questioned.

She squeezed him "I love you knucklehead, don't dare think anything but that okay?" she whispered, he nodded slowly.

"Don't let such thoughts even pass your mind, because you're my best friend as much as Sasuke is" she said, he hugged back and nodded.

"Sorry" he apologized.

"It's okay, we're at fault" she replied.

"Hell yes you are" he grumbled.

She giggled "sorry" she whispered, he nodded.

She kicked Sasuke from behind her and he hissed, "Sorry" he muttered itching to rub his shin.

Naruto snickered, they let go and she grinned to him.

"When are you going?" Naruto asked.

"Tomorrow" Sasuke answered.

"How long will it take you?" he asked.

They exchanged glances "not more than a week" Sasuke answered.

"You won't even get the chance to miss us!" Rumiya grinned.

"I guess I gotta go" Naruto said and ventured away.

They stayed silent as they watched him "we're idiots" Rumiya murmured, Sasuke grunted in agreement.

"We'll have to make it up" she whispered.

"Would paying for his Ramen for a month do?" he suggested.

"No, if we'll do it with Ramen then we'll have to make it a year" she replied, he sweat dropped.

"No, I can barely take that crap, it won't do" he muttered, she smiled.

"Oh I know you can take it for him" she taunted, he scowled at her.

"Just go" he told her and flickered away, she chuckled and went home.

**************

"Are you sure this is the right decision?" he asked.

"No, but I promised I will support him, and I will protect him" she answered.

"And I support you, you're free to go" he permitted.

"Thank you father" she smiled.

"Just be careful" he warned.

"I will take full precautions" she answered.

"I'm proud to have you as my daughter" he smiled, she blinked and her smile brightened.

"I could never ask for a better dad" she replied.

"Well, go, pack up" he ordered.

"Yes" she answered and left the room.

She went to her room and looked around, she took out her backpack and started packing, 30minutes later she was done "good" she said.

*********

"Rum-" he stopped and froze.

She turned to him "good morning Ren-kun" she greeted.

He didn't respond, his eyes slowly roamed over her, still not wearing her sash belt, her pants were riding low on her hips, and she just grabbed her bandage role, so she was only wearing her vest over her fishnet top.

"Ren-kun?" she called, he looked at her face and his head dropped quickly, his hand flew to his nose and his face went beat red, he shut the door quickly.

Rumiya frowned and continued wrapping her bandages, and then she strapped her sash belt, checked her pouches before wearing her head protector and shoes and left the room to the dining room.

"Ren-kun, what did you come for earlier?" Rumiya asked.

"Ah, umm…" he stammered and cleared his throat "I came to give you something" he answered, she looked at him expectantly, he took out a syringe bottle.

"What is this?" she asked.

"It's a medicine I and Marika have been working on with Tsunade-sama" he answered.

"It's an instant healer, it can heal all 3degrees of burns and can close any wound in an instant, you can use it 4times and I hope you never need to use them" he explained.

Her eyes sparkled, "thank you" she grinned.

He nodded and pulled out a set of scrolls, she blinked in question.

"Those are corpse sealing scrolls" he explained.

"You know I can't use Fuinjutsu if my life depended on it" she chuckled.

"I know that's why I made you those scrolls" he smiled.

"Those are ready made, all you have to do is place the scroll on the corpse and paint the kanji for seal at the center of the circle and it will do the rest" he instructed.

Her eyes sparkled again "thank you" she whispered.

"Be careful out there alright?" he warned, she nodded, he gave her a fond smile, and they smiled to each other for a while before Rumiya jumped.

"I'm late" she squealed "thanks Ren-kun!" she grinned before running off.

He watched her leave with a small smile.

"Baby brother, you're totally whipped" Kenta told him and Ren aimed a punch but Kenta grabbed his wrist.

"Not so easily" he grinned.

********

Rumiya blinked twice when she saw Shino.

"Shino" she greeted.

"Rumiya, you must be wondering why I'm here, the reason is very simple, Tsunade-sama commanded that I aid you in your mission in pursuing Itachi Uchiha as an Aburame" he greeted.

She nodded slowly and turned to Sasuke who nodded.

"Well, I know you will be of great help" she smiled, he nodded and they left the village.

When they reached the town Shino spread his insects around and gave Sasuke and Rumiya ones and then they separated, they started searching for Itachi Uchiha.

"Ah, the Uchiha younger brother" Deidara said.

"Due to his heritage, he was also able to kill Orochimaru, hmm, he was only blessed with that lineage, this misunderstanding bastard" he said.

Sasuke flashed at him with his Tanto, Deidara jumped out of the way quickly but his partner was cut in half.

"First of all, it seems you have no control over your mouth, so I'll ask you a few things about Itachi" Sasuke started.

Rumiya's eyes turned to Deidara's partner when he moved and her eyes narrowed.

"What the hell are you doing Tobi! Nonetheless he's a brat so don't waste this opportunity!" Deidara yelled.

"His Body Flicker Jutsu is way too fast for us, it's no use" Tobi whined.

Deidara dug into his bags, "Tobi, get back" he warned and threw small clay spiders at Sasuke.

Tobi jumped away with a cry "Senpai don't detonate them!" Tobi warned.

Sasuke stopped them with his Chidori Senbon, only a few detonated, he jumped behind Deidara.

"Senpai watch out!" Tobi called, Deidara turned around and a detonation went out and Rumiya's eyes widened and she jumped back.

"Sasuke!" she called, he jumped beside her, she let out a silent breath and they turned to them.

"I will take the obnoxious one" she said.

"Both are" he replied, she smirked.

"The masked one" she verified, he nodded.

They noticed Deidara clap his hands together "t-that's" Tobi stuttered and they tensed.

He threw the clay piece in the air and it turned into a gigantic dragon "there it is! Sempai's favorite art technique: the C2 dragon!" Tobi cheered.

Deidara jumped atop its head "you know what to do, Tobi!" he ordered.

"You can count on me Senpai! It's 'that' isn't it?!" Tobi replied "we're using 'it' right?" Tobi asked.

"Right! Get ready Tobi" Deidara said and hummed, making a hand seal, the dragon's tail shrunk in, it threw up a great number of smaller balls.

"He's coming! Show him the power of your pop-art Senpai!" Tobi applauded.

"Pop is dead! My style is super flat!" Deidara yelled.

And I thought Naruto was loud… Rumiya scowled, the dragon threw up a smaller bird-like creature, it charged at Sasuke and he dodged it, but it detonated.

Rumiya's eyes narrowed and she looked up to Deidara's dragon, Sasuke used his Chidori Sharp Spear but Deidara was out of range.

Rumiya sighed "where's the other idiot?" she murmured.

"That was Kakashi's attack! I'll give you credit, using shape manipulation to stretch and throw is pretty creative!" Deidara commended.

Rumiya noticed Tobi moving underground "ah" she let out and smirked "well, that won't be so hard" she slammed her hands into the ground and emitted lightning chakra and spread it in the ground.

Tobi yelped and jumped out, she charged at him "please Nee-san! I don't like fighting!" he cried.

"Too bad" she replied and aimed a punch, but he dodged it quickly, she aimed again and punched him in the neck, another explosion went off and she was distracted, she turned back to Tobi to see that he'd disappeared.

Sasuke jumped in the air with his Chidori spear and cut the dragon in half, Deidara fell down towards the area Tobi put landmines on.

"Get away Sasuke" she cautioned and he flew up, she jumped away, a great explosion happened.

"Ah senpai! I told you you'd die in one of your explosions!" Tobi shrieked.

"ah that coward" Rumiya glared it seems my punch didn't do anything…then their heads whipped up to see Deidara still alive flying in the air above a bird, he started eating his clay.

"Uh-oh, if he's eating his clay that means…" Tobi trailed off and Rumiya frowned.

"This is my most powerful attack…you're dead!" Deidara made a hand seal.

"Tobi! Get out of here!" he yelled.

Tobi yelped and jumped away "the C4 Karura!" Tobi screeched.

Deidara threw up his clay and the pair's eyes widened slowly "Sasuke!" Rumiya called, he turned to her, he flew up and they grabbed each other's wrists.

"Now you're running away, hmm?!" Deidara barked.

"you really think that you can get away from my C4 Karura?!" he made a hand seal and the creature started inflating, Sasuke cursed and flew as fast as he could, it blew up but it didn't cause any explosion.

Was it a dud? They thought together, but Sasuke's eyes widened "this is" he uttered.

"I win!!!" Deidara yelled.

"Art…is a bang!!!" he screamed.

"Sublimate!" he shouted.

Abruptly Sasuke emitted electricity into Rumiya and she cried out.

"I win! I win!!" Deidara laughed, they landed down and Rumiya panted.

"What…what was it?" she asked.

"Microscopic bombs that entered our bodies, if I didn't stop them, we would've crumbled, I put him under a Genjutsu" he answered.

He made hand seals and summoned Hōku "stay with Rumiya" he ordered.

"Go after Tobi" he told her, she nodded, they separated, and Rumiya started looking for Tobi but cursed when she didn't find him.

He pierced Deidara's chest, but she was shocked to see it was a clay clone, then she saw another C4 materializing in Sasuke's face, she saw Deidara jump away and growled and jumped on Hōku "up" she ordered and the bird flew up.

She took out her gloves and wore them and jumped up, she reached Deidara from behind "Ryūkenpō: Plum Flower Punch" she murmured and pierced him in the back, she emitted electricity into his nerves in fatal bursts and pumped Chakra into his Tenkatsu, the brute force of her punch destroyed his ribs, he fell on the ground with a thud and Hōku flew under her so she landed on him, they all landed down.

"The other guy fled" she told Sasuke, he eyed the dead Deidara.

"he was irritating, I had to kill him" she said, he rolled his eyes, she took out a scroll and put it on Deidara's body, she bit her thumb and painted the kanji and it sealed his corpse "this will be a lot of information" she smirked, he nodded.

"now let's see what Shino came up with" she said, he nodded then collapsed, she let a small squeak and started healing him, she healed all his burns and wounds and gave him an ointment.

"Let's go" she said, he stood up and popped a few joints.

They met up with Shino and he eyed their ragged appearance "put in the report that Akatsuki is missing one of its members" she smirked.

He nodded, "I found one of Akatsuki's bases" he informed.

"Lead the way" Sasuke ordered.

"This is the place" Shino stopped.

They looked at it thoughtfully "I'm going in" Sasuke stepped forward.

"I too-"

"No, it's too dangerous" he cut Rumiya short, she frowned but let him go.

He entered the hideout and she stayed in an awkward silence with Shino.

She found herself observing him openly, something she tended to do a lot and never got embarrassed with, but it wasn't the first time she did that with Shino.

Back in the academy days she always observed him, to her finding someone as stoic as Kai at that age was something big,  
He didn't react to her so she continued her act, he was as pale as Sasuke, with a skin as fair too, she wondered vaguely why he wasn't popular with the women it was obvious he was attractive under that thick layer of clothes, and he was skilled enough, she already knew he was almost smarter than her.

She found herself wondering how he dealt with being in the same team with someone so brash and arrogant like Kiba or timid and spineless like Hinata, she pitied him when the teams were named, but now she admires the team for their great teamwork despite their differences.

She felt his gaze on her behind his shades and smiled, he smiled back, then they turned to Sasuke when he walked out, they walked to him and Rumiya noticed how he trembled and frowned when she noticed it was fury.

"So?" Shino asked, Sasuke stopped trembling and his Sharingan started swirling angrily.

"We're going to the Uchiha hideout" he glared and they nodded.

They stopped when they saw Kisame "keep on, Itachi didn't want any interferences" he shrugged and they began walking in but he stopped Rumiya and Shino "no interferences" he repeated and they growled.

Sasuke nodded and went in, Rumiya and Shino waited outside in an awkward silence with Kisame, it was still silent so they presumed they were talking "so, we already killed 4 of your members, how many do you have left?" Rumiya asked, he didn't answer.

"Does your leader have a partner as well?" she asked, he didn't answer.

"Tobi was a quick replacement to Sasori, but he surely is a coward unlike them, you brought him a partner too?" she asked.

"You aren't bringing a word out of me young lady so don't try" he smirked.

"Why aren't you battling us?" she asked.

"As much as I love fighting, no need for unnecessary battles, you don't have the Jinchuuriki with you, and you aren't attacking as well" he answered.

"Good to know not all the Akatsuki members are sociopaths, I would've pitied Itachi then" she smirked.

They looked up when a great explosion happened, two great fire balls detonated then one turned into black flames, her eyes widened in panic in fear of Sasuke getting scorched in the black flames

"S-Sasuke…" she uttered, but her head whipped to another area when she saw Sasuke's dragon fire technique, she sighed in relief, and then it began raining.

Sasuke used his Kirin and Itachi fell, then a gigantic creature that looked like a human skeleton with Chakra around it appeared.

Rumiya gulped in worry then she saw giant snakes erupt from Sasuke, and then she saw none other than Orochimaru come out of a snake's mouth.

Itachi's warrior cut the snakes' heads easily then it slashed at Orochimaru and he was sucked in, she frowned in confusion when the snakes disappeared.

She couldn't see what happened on the ground because of the forest, it went silent and Rumiya cursed and ran inside before Kisame could stop her and he was blocked by Shino.

She stepped back from the heat and saw Itachi walking slowly to Sasuke who was frozen, she saw Itachi poke Sasuke before falling down, she blinked twice, she saw the forest light up in the black fire and it began pouring again.

She made cautious steps inside the area, making sure to avoid the fatal flames as much as possible, the heat began lifting, a lump fell in her throat when she saw Itachi's corpse and she turned to Sasuke, who fell beside him.

"Sasuke" she crouched beside him.

"I did it" he whispered, she took out the syringes Ren gave her and injected Sasuke with one, he started healing almost immediately, she sealed Itachi's corpse and turned to Sasuke, she started healing him with her Chakra enhancing healing Technique.

"Let's go home" she lifted him up, but they were stopped by the presence of Tobi.

"Ah, you killed Itachi-sempai" he whined, she glared at him.

"You leave when you have the chance" she threatened with venom.

"Please! Just give us Itachi-sempai's corpse" he jumped.

"In your dreams" she smirked, she began walking again.

"Please, Rumiya-neesan" he pleaded.

She glared at him and hugged Sasuke closer to her, fusing a bit of their Chakra together, she made hand seals quickly "Lightning Release: Lightning Devourer Technique" she said and he jumped back with a yelp.

"That hurt!" he whined, she made a quick dash out of the area, she found Shino collapsed too.

"Shino!" she ran to his side.

"He retreated" he informed, she nodded let Sasuke down, she injected Shino with the special syringe and healed him.

"What happened?" he asked.

"We have Itachi Uchiha's corpse" she answered.

"Thank you" he stood up.

"No, thank you, I'm sorry for leaving you so irrationally" she said, he nodded, she grasped Sasuke's hand and they started their walk home.

************

Sasuke trembled in his spot angrily, agony settled inside him but he didn't speak.

Tsunade watched him in pity "I will strip the councilors of their ranks, and I will put Danzo to trial, for making such an illogical decision and for eradicating Uchiha Shisui" she notified, he didn't respond.

"I will give Itachi a honorable funeral, it will be private and you're free to invite anyone you want, I will keep this a secret, but if you want I will announce it, I think it will honor Itachi Uchiha, but I doubt he wanted his clan's name to be tainted" she advised gently.

He stood up abruptly and made a run in full speed to Rumiya who was training with Naruto.

They turned to him "Sasuke" Rumiya said in confusion then she tensed.

"What did they find?" she asked gently.

"H-he…he tried to kill me! He seriously did! And he tried to take my eyes!" he trembled angrily.

"How is it that all of this is false?" he asked gripping his hair, Rumiya and Naruto exchanged glances.

"How? How it is that he did it all to protect me?" he looked at them helplessly.

"Can you tell us what happened?" she asked.

"The clan…they were planning a coup" he whispered and they gasped.

"Danzo and the two advisors made Itachi execute them before they started a war…the third didn't stop him…" he glared.

"Danzo killed Shisui…that was how Itachi gained his Mangekyo" he scowled.

"Itachi had to kill them…I can't believe it…he was just protecting me…he wanted me to gain the Mangekyo Sharingan…" he paused.

"So he gave me his Mangekyo …he was trying to protect me from Madara" he murmured.

"He did all of that…and I killed him" he growled, she hugged him tightly.

"I killed him…" he whispered, Naruto's lips were pursed together as he stared at Sasuke, seemingly mulling over the information they received, while Rumiya continued soothing Sasuke, trying to make a judgment over Itachi's actions.

She was starting to put the pieces together, since Naruto told her about Kyuubi when he snuck into her room in the middle of the night on the graduation day she made it a duty to learn as much as she could about the Bijuu.

And only when she turned Jounin did she find out the truth of the Uchiha who controlled Kyuubi to attack the village.

The Uchiha clan was shunned, the Uchiha became untrusted, so the Uchiha obviously sought vengeance, hearing they planned a coup didn't surprise her.

The third succumbing to Danzo and carrying out the execution mission surprised her, she knew him to be kinder than that.

Them using a loyal Uchiha didn't surprise her, not only did they surely want the whole matter a secret, but it would've required more than one man to defeat one Uchiha, and only an Uchiha could fight a number of Uchiha.

Danzo killing Shisui surprised her, why? And why wasn't he punished? Danzo was a man of supremacy in the village, but that didn't give him a right to kill a Shinobi of his own village.

Itachi leaving Sasuke alive didn't surprise her; she always believed there was more depth to his actions, she always believed in his love for his brother.

The Hokage choosing Itachi surprised her, the Hokage knew how kind Itachi's heart was it bemused her how he actually accepted to destroy the man.

They erased the Uchiha clan, they destroyed Itachi, and they broke Sasuke, and it saddened her so much, because truly, the Hokage is dead, only Danzo and the two advisors knew of that, and to her, execution was too trifling a punishment.

"They killed him…" Sasuke whispered kicking her out of her mind.

"They killed him…the council members" he repeated.

"They made him kill the clan…they forced him to kill our family" he glared.

"Danzo killed Shisui, he killed niisan's best friend" he let go, she saw hatred in his eyes.

"Konoha killed him" he growled.

"I will kill them" he promised and they tensed.

"I will kill them all!" his Sharingan swirled.

"Sasuke" she cupped his cheeks, he glared at her.

"Calm down" she nodded her head slowly trying to calm him down.

"Listen" she commanded.

"You love Itachi right?" she asked, he nodded.

"You will do anything to make him content right?" she asked, he nodded.

"Your brother sided with Konoha when your clan planned to destroy it right?" she asked, he nodded, Naruto crouched beside her.

"That means he must hold Konoha dear, would he be happy if you harmed it?" she asked, he scowled and lowered his gaze.

"What does the Hokage plan with Danzo?" she asked.

"Trial" he answered.

"Well, that's your revenge, the truth is revealed and the counselors will get their punishment, that's justice" she smiled.

"Why didn't the third object?" he asked, she didn't answer for a moment.

"I don't know, but there must've been a good reason, but the third is dead now" she said, he glared at the ground.

"Why did it have to be Itachi?" he asked with hurt eye, her lips pursed and she turned to Naruto.

"If it wasn't Itachi, it would've been someone else" he answered, he looked into her eyes then turned to Sasuke with eyes twinkling with fondness.

"If it was someone else, they would've killed you too" he said and Sasuke's eyes widened.

"I'm sure it was Itachi's decision to keep you safe" she nodded, a tear slipped on his cheek and she wiped it away.

"But it's alright now" she assured.

"Itachi…Itachi…continued loving you and protecting you from afar right? He made sure you didn't find out the truth…all because he wanted you to continue loving your family" Naruto smiled.

"He wanted you to continue loving Konoha, because I'm sure…he knew as soon as you knew, you will blame Konoha" he grinned and Sasuke's eyes widened again.

"Fulfill his wishes Sasuke" she probed.

"Revive the Uchiha clan, and continue protecting Konoha, I'm sure that's what he wanted you to do" she advised.

He didn't answer, a moment later he rested his head on her shoulder, she hugged him lightly, rubbing soothing circles on his back, though his eyes stayed on Naruto, looking for the insurance she couldn't give him.


	7. Pain Attack

"Ugh…he's so detached!" Sakura groaned.

"Please! At least yours is not rude!" Ino sneered.

Rumiya just laughed and they glared at her.

"Sorry, it's just funny" she cackled they scowled at her.

"Anyway, how's the search?" Sakura asked.

"Sasuke's leading the team, no need to worry" she answered.

"I'm still baffled that Danzo ran away like that, I thought he's too prideful to die anywhere but in the village" Ino wondered.

"Turns out he's a coward, what can one say" Rumiya shrugged.

"Why was Sasuke-kun furious anyway? Why did Danzo run away? Tsunade-sama isn't answering any" Sakura asked.

"Don't know" Rumiya waved her hand dismissively.

"Sakura, Rumiya" they heard and turned to Kakashi, he had a grim expression.

"What is it? Is Sasuke hurt?" Rumiya stood up worriedly.

He shook his head "the Hokage wants you both, immediately" he ordered and they nodded.

********

"So this boy here's Jiraiya-chan's pupil?" Fukasaku asked.

"Yes, this is Uzumaki Naruto the 'destined child' I suppose" Tsunade answered and Rumiya didn't miss the calling.

"…A grandpa frog, now? What gives?" Naruto asked rudely "watch your tone Naruto!" Tsunade warned.

"This is one of the great head hermits of Myoubokumountain, Fukasaku-sama! He made all the way here to talk to you!" Tsunade clarified.

"Head hermit toad, if ya wanna get all formal" Fukasaku responded "anyways, yer Jiraiya-chan's pupil, yeah?" he asked Naruto.

"-Chan? Chan!? What, do you think Ero Sennin's your summoned animal? What the hell's this wrinkly old frog's problem?!" Naruto accused angrily.

"I said watch your mouth!" Tsunade warned again "he's Jiraiya-sama's teacher, a great and wise figure who taught him hermit-style Ninjutsu" Shizune explained.

"Hahaha Ero Sennin! Ya got the same attitude as yer master kiddo!" Fukasaku laughed.

"All right, old…toad what'd you wanna tell me?" Naruto asked "where do I start? Guess I'd better just say it…" Fukasaku murmured.

"Jiraiya-chan was killed in battle" he exclaimed and the air went tense "…huh?" came Naruto's response.

"Wh-what're you saying…" Naruto asked "durin' his fight Pain crushed poor Jiraiya-chan's throat" he explained.

"Before he fell fer the last time, he left one final message" he told them "an' here it is!" he turned around and showed them, confusing them all with the code.

"He did it so Pain wouldn't know what he was sayin' this here's what Jiraiya-chan died for" he turned back.

"…Granny, did you send him there?" Naruto asked quietly "yes" Tsunade asked.

"What the hell were you thinking? You know how the perverted hermit got! Why did you let him go on such a risky-" "enough Naruto" Kakashi cut in.

"You should understand exactly how the fifth feels" he frowned and Naruto fell quiet "fuck this" he cursed and turned around.

"Naruto, where are you going?" Sakura asked "if he'd been the fifth Hokage, he' never have made you go on that mission, granny Tsunade" he muttered.

"Naruto!" Sakura called "it's okay, Sakura just let him be for a while" Tsunade lowered her head.

"But…" Sakura insisted and turned to Rumiya who kept a neutral expression and frowned.

"My apologies Fukasaku-sama Naruto just needs to" Kakashi apologized "I understand" Fukasaku replied.

"About the whole 'destined child' story" Tsunade questioned.

"I know the kid was Jiraiya-s pupil 100% a' the way I just pray he's the real 'destines child' don't think I could bear it if he weren't" he sighed.

"Excuse me" Rumiya murmured and left.

"Hey" she greeted walking in and he sat back down on the chair, he frowned painfully "why him?" he whimpered.

"Because it's him" she answered standing right in front of him, her hands on his jaw, tears filled his eyes and she embraced him, his shoulders shook but he refused to make a sound, Rumiya just comforted him.

"You better?" she asked and he nodded, smiling lopsidedly "thanks Rumiya-chan" he whispered.

"I wanted him to keep watching me…I wanted him to be here when I became Hokage, to have him see me do more than just screw up" he whispered.

"Jiraiya-sama will always be watching over you, I'm sure he's looking down on you now, wherever he is" she responded.

"But if you just sit around sulking he won't be happy, be yourself and cheer up!" she grinned "you're Jiraiya-sama's prize pupil the man who he acknowledged as being the best" she nudged him.

Naruto stared at her for a moment before finally smiling and nodding.

"You want to go train?" she nudged him gently and he grinned "let's go" he stood up.

********

"Come back a hero 'kay? You got to render Sasuke speechless" she grinned and he grinned broadly "hell yeah!" he gave her a thumb up.

She hugged him tightly, he hugged back as tightly and she giggled and lifted him up "I will miss you!" she squealed and he chuckled but choked when her grip tightened on his ribs "Rumiya-…chan" he struggled and she let him go.

They smiled to each one last time before he left.

********

"Plum Flower Punch" she punched him and his neck snapped, he flew through a number of houses and she panted, she stood straight and sighed, a great explosion embedded and she turned around to find her estate erased, terror filled her heart and body.

"Shit!" she cursed and sprinted, bloody images flashing through her mind.

She gasped and a lump rose in her throat at the sight of her family members, the estate was destroyed, fire was still flaming through it, most men were out battling, only the mothers and children stayed in the estate, tears filled her eyes at the sight of all of her relatives.

She heard a whimper and her head whipped around to see Marika, a pillar on her, she dashed to her and fell on her knees "Marika" she called, her voice almost inaudible.

Marika's tired eyes turned to her, then she turned to the pillar, her tears fell and Rumiya covered her mouth, blood was soaking the ground, "Nat…su" Marika uttered, blood seeping out of her mouth.

Rumiya whimpered trembling, struggling to keep her cries low, Marika stopped moving and her eyes darkened and Rumiya let out a body wrecking sob "Marika…" she cried "Marika" she sobbed quietly, crying silently.

"Rumiya" she heard and turned to see her father, she cried and crawled to him "dad" she sobbed, he met her midway and hugged her tightly, she sobbed into his chest and he held her closer, he pulled back and looked her over, his expression grief stricken, their family was gone.

Rumiya screamed and scrambled away from him, the rod skewered into the back of his head and through his right eye "dad!!" she screamed and rushed to him, he lay unmoving and dead "dad" she called brokenly.

Her breath fell short, she could barely gasp, her chest hurt through her cries, her heart was racing so fast it hurt, she trembled as she cried over her father, her mind no longer on the enemy, her family members' corpses flashes through her mind and she felt nauseas, she hunched over through her sobs, feeling bile rise to her throat, she coughed and gagged but her throat was tight and she returned to bawling.

She still didn't gain control over herself when she looked up at the man, his rods ready, she let one last defeated sob when he swung them at her, pain struck her chest and she flew back, at that moment she only saw Marika's destroyed belly, her and Kai's child, Marika's grinning face as she stroked her belly with Kai giving her that special smile he only directed at her flashed through her mind before lights went out.

*********

"-Oh god, please, I love you, please, don't do this" she felt feather soft sensations all over her face as those words were whispered with that familiar face in a desperate tone she never heard before.

She felt rain on her face, a painfully quiet sob and what she finally identified as arms cradled her and a head buried itself between her shoulder and neck, she could feel the mouth of that person whisper brokenly against her ear "please come back" "I love you" "I'm sorry I couldn't protect you" and everything along those lines.

She finally opened her eyes, she was met with the blue peaceful sky, the first thought that passed her mind was how she depreciated Shikamaru's favorite hobby before, she was never so relieved to see the blue sky, the person hugging her still had his head buried in her neck so he didn't notice, she sucked in a breathe slowly and he tensed, he let go hesitantly and she relished in the sight of his cognac pupil-less orbs, they were filled with tears that were still falling.

Once she found herself capable of moving her limbs, she raised her hand and touched his face, wiping his tears "took you 8 years to admit it" she smirked and his eyes lit up and he hugged her tightly, she hugged back, breathing in his ashy and bloody scent, something she wasn't unfamiliar with.

"B-But how?" he let her go, touching her face, she sat up slowly and looked at her chest, it was healed, she glanced around and found the rod on the ground, her own blood covering it, the rod impaled her heart, but she came back to life, she shuddered, death wasn't a pleasant experience.

She turned to him, the peacefulness making her a little light headed compared to the anguish battle that destroyed the village seemingly a few seconds ago, she could hear children crying, people waking up, mothers, fathers and siblings calling for each other desperately, she couldn't believe it, it felt too good to be true, it was too good to be true.

Kai destroyed the pillar that rolled on Marika and she pulled herself up cursing colorfully, he hugged her tightly and she saw tears on his still panicked and guilty face, he was the one shaking as she comforted him, with her other hand over her now recovered belly, she heard her cry too, happiness, she was crying happily and this was the first time Rumiya saw Kai crying, Kai never cried, Kai witnessed the third world war as soon as he became a Genin, he was reputed for killing a hundred enemy Shinobi when he was 11, that was why he was the family genius, that was why he was her mentor, but the war turned him stone cold and here he was crying happily, guiltily for his wife and unborn child.

She turned to her father, he awoke in a slow pace and she went to him slowly, he sat up and turned to her, still looking confused, she smiled brokenly, her father was never confused, her vision blurred for a second and she tackled him in a hug "oh god" she whispered.

He hugged back, his grip tightening slowly, till he was almost crushing her and she didn't mind one bit "I'm so sorry" he whispered and she let him go, his broken expression stole her smile "I couldn't protect you" he stroked her cheek with his thumb, pushing her hair out of the way, she smiled "it's okay, you did your best" she assured, he gazed at her with a frown before his frown loosened and he nodded.

They stood up and soon everyone was waking up and hurrying to find their family, confusion filled the air, but happiness and relief filled the hearts of everyone, Rumiya turned to Ren who was going around helping children and women with his always easy smile, she remembered his kind-of confession and her heart fluttered, she gulped slightly, their eyes locked and his cheeks turned rosy, her face flushed too, but she managed a smile with it and he smiled shyly.

She glanced around a moment before venturing her way to him, she stopped right in front of him, her chest almost touching his, he was still 6'2 feet tall though, "so, fiancé of mine, what was it you were admitting just now?" she asked, and he grinned, his face still pink, he ran a hand through his hair and finally chuckled coyly.

"For your information, the feeling is mutual" she whispered, he smiled again "I love you" his gaze made her knees feel like jelly, she was never admitting that until she was an old granny trying to make her grandchildren uncomfortable.

"I love you too" her smirk turned into a sweet smile, he leant down to her and she prepared her mentality, heart, stomach and knees for the experience when they heard a cough and Ren jumped back with a red face, she turned to see none other than Kenta, she scowled at him, typical, nobody had less common sense than him.

He smirked at them playfully "there's always a room for that lovebirds" he reminded and she looked around pointedly "you can hold yourselves for a week" he added and she huffed "do you know how shy your brother is? This is an opportunity I've been fantasizing over for 4 years" she glared.

"This is an opportunity he's been having wet dreams of for 2 years, he isn't complaining yet" he grinned and she turned to Ren who turned from glowering at Kenta to a blushing mess in a millisecond, she vaguely heard him whisper 'traitor' under his breath before he cleared his throat and ran a hand through his hair, still red in the face.

"I really want to punch your face through the back of your head right now" he sighed and Rumiya grinned, "anyway, Rumiya, I think you should go meet your teammates" Kenta suggested and she blinked then jumped "holy spicy curry! My teammates" she squealed and pulled Ren for a peck on the cheek before sprinting off giggling.

What she found had her shell-shocked, either the people of her village turned nuts or amnesiac or she's been out for more than just a few minutes, the last thing she expected from the civilians of Konoha, none other than Konoha, to be cheering for Naruto, none other than Naruto and flinging him in the air and actually catching him while applauding 'hero'.

There was something out of logic in that situation, she fished around for Kakashi for her eyes to land on Sasuke, looking around as well, his eyes landed on her and widened then she found herself engulfed in a hug before she even processed it, a hug from Sasuke, it was official, there was something out of logic in that situation.

"Fuck" he cursed lowly and she frowned in confusion "Sasuke?" she queried and he let her go, he stared at her in bewilderment and relief, "you're alive" he whispered with an exhale, his expression softening and a smile easing on his lips, that was when she noticed his bloodshot eyes and the red tear stains on his cheeks, her breath caught in her throat and she turned to look him in the eyes "Sasuke" she gulped.

"What happened?" she asked, his grip on her shoulder tightened and he trembled "you were lying there, covered in blood with that stick in your chest, your eyes lifeless…" he paused "I…I didn't protect you" he scowled in self-loathing and her eyes widened in realization "did you activate it?" she whispered.

He lowered his gaze for a moment before looking back to her eyes "you're back that's all that matters" he told her calmly and her heart swelled up and a lump that wasn't so bad rose in her throat, tears blurred her vision and she sniffled and smiled "R-Rumiya" Sasuke stammered and she chuckled.

"I love you" she hugged him "wow, this is the second time you make her cry and she still loves you, how unfair to me" they heard and turned to Naruto, gazing at her with an unreadable gaze.

"Hey hero" she greeted letting Sasuke go and cruising to him, he grinned to her "I kept my promise" he shrugged and she giggled, his smile faltered and his eyes turned sad, then he engulfed her in a hug "when Sasuke told me…" he whispered "I'm sorry…you're supposed to be my first priority, you're my best friend…I should've made sure you were okay…I'm sorry" he whimpered and she patted his back with a sigh.

"You men are so annoying, you should know I don't need protecting, I've been protecting your butts since we became Genin and before, don't make it seem like me getting hurt is your fault" she told him and memories of her family's dead bodies and her breakdown flashed in her mind, it was hers.

"That's why we have to protect you now, and we didn’t" Naruto let go, looking at her regretfully "Naruto, you've been busy saving the village" she pointed out "you're more important than them" he blurted out and she stared at him for a moment before her gaze softened "thanks" she smiled.

"How about me?" they turned to Kakashi "I'd like to remind I died too" they figured he was probably playfully pouting or something "aw, you too?" Rumiya grinned, but the image that flashed in her mind made her heart skip a beat, the thought of losing Kakashi…their rock, when it settled in, freaked her out, she hugged him and her grip tightened when the image of him bloody and lifeless like her family had been made her heart race and her palms clammy.

He tightened his grip on her too, to the point she was suffocating, but she understood, he lost his everything, his most important people and she'd be a liar if she even thought they weren't important to him and he them, he must've been as frightened.

She gulped and let him go "and that's why Rumiya-chan is my favorite student" Kakashi chirped "because you're a pervert?" Sasuke raised an eyebrow and Rumiya and Naruto laughed lightly.

"What, exactly happened?" Rumiya asked them, they were about to answer when Naruto and Sasuke were swarmed by cheerers again.

*********

"You can always ask Jiraiya about them" Sasuke suggested to Naruto and he and Rumiya tensed, he turned down to Rumiya on his lap and her still hand on Naruto's head, which stilled as well.

"What am I missing?" he asked dreadfully, Rumiya eyed Naruto and he turned to him "Ero-sennin was…Killed In Action" he murmured and Sasuke tensed.

"Who…" he whispered, "Nagato" Naruto answered fire flashed in Sasuke's eyes angrily.

"That-!" he seethed and Rumiya laid her hand on his shoulder and he turned to her, her expression conveyed her request and he let out a breath.

"When did that happen?" he asked "the afternoon of the day you left" Rumiya answered, Naruto turned around and smiled "he sent a coded message, we decode it but didn't get anything, after that I left with the head toad who taught Ero-sennin, I came back on time" he explained.

Sasuke stared at him silently for a long moment, his gaze softened in sympathy, Naruto's smile softened and Rumiya found herself a third-wheel caught between their deep brotherly love, just that stare gave Naruto more comfort than she ever could've given him if she comforted him for weeks.

She didn't even find it in herself to interrupt them, but Naruto finally grinned and Sasuke turned his gaze elsewhere, she smiled, truly happy to just witness their bond, because they were siblings, she was their sister, but they were brothers, the love was equal, just a different type.

********

"Wait, why are we not going?" Rumiya asked "that's none of your business" Tsunade answered and they frowned.

"Is it for the Sage's vision?" Sasuke asked "partially, but that's not important, this decision is final, Naruto pack up, all of you dismissed" she answered.

They frowned but complied, "this is the worst!" Naruto thundered then groaned.

"Think on the bright side, you might meet that man" Sakura smiled, Rumiya frowned in thought.

"Wait…Kumogakure…the eight tails…" she narrowed her eyes "the Jinchuuriki of the Hachibi can control it" she told them, they went silent for a while.

"The place you're going to is called the Turtle Island" Sakura added "the Hachibi is an Octopus" Rumiya smirked.

Naruto stared at them gaping for a moment before he grinned "then! Then" he gasped "I can control Kyuubi" his eyes widened in excitement and they nodded.

"Guess we won't need to rebel and follow you then" Rumiya grinned and Sakura giggled "I was wondering why you didn't object more" she grinned.

"Anyhow, I have a shift in the hospital, see you guys" Sakura bid and left "I'll go pack" Naruto left.

Rumiya's smile dropped into a serious frown "that's suspicious" she wondered "they're confining him" Sasuke responded and she turned to him "what?" she whispered.

"Only the Kyuubi and Hachibi are left, Akatsuki is destroyed, but Madara still invaded that Kage council, they're sending him there for his protection" he explained.

"But why are we kept here? Only you can fight Madara, staying here is useless-" she paused anxiously "whatever happens in the next week…it will decided everything" he frowned and she gulped.

*********

"Where are you Sasuke…?" Rumiya grunted as she defeated yet another clone.

"Rumiya" she turned to him "where were you? Do you know how hard it is to identify those clones?" she growled.

"They will be taken care of, I found the original's location" he responded and she blinked "great" she smirked.

"Kakashi-sense-" she paused when she found him beside her "what about the other?" he asked.

"That's why I'm brining Rumiya, we'll fight from inside, Naruto will back you up anyway" Sasuke answered and Rumiya snickered "I so called it" she grinned.

"Are you sure?" Kakashi frowned and they nodded "well then, I give you permission, I'll inform HQ" he permitted and Sasuke's wings sprouted, he flew up and Rumiya grabbed his wrists "see ya later" she bid and they flew.

"So, the plan?" she asked "I'll take the black one, you'll take the white one, if we defeat them, the war will be technically won and we'll only have Madara left, against our team, B and the Kage, he has no chance" he answered.

"Nice, this will be the shortest war in the world, I promise" she grinned, he smirked.

*********

"This is rude!" she scowled and destroyed the wood, she growled at him "since I can't take you out with my clan techniques then…" she made hand seals "Lightning Release: Tiger Missile!" she called.

The tiger erupted and flashed at Zetsu who attempted to dodge it and block it with a word technique but it destroyed him, her hand returned to the gash on her side and she healed it slowly as she limbed to him, all the clones fell dead and she smirked.

She stepped out of the cave just as a string of gigantic tree roots destroyed it, but they fell as soon and she hurried there to find Sasuke standing over the black Zetsu, he turned to her and she gave a toothy grin, he smirked and turned to black Zetsu, in a moment he burned in black flames.

Sasuke did the same with white Zetsu and the Rinnegan when she noticed something; she frowned at the unfocused look in his eyes "are you okay?" she asked.

"Yes, just, maybe something in my eyes" he muttered "Sasuke" she ground out "it's the Mangekyo" he sighed.

"Shit, you use it too much" she cursed "at this rate you'll be blinded by tomorrow" she ran a hand through her hair "I'm fine, the enemy army is defeated, all we need to do is defeat Madara" he responded.

"No, you can't fight in this state" she objected and he glared at her, but it didn't work when it was more like he was squinting to focus on her face "Itachi's eyes" she spoke.

"No" he responded quickly "Sasuke, you need them" she insisted "no" he growled "Sasuke" she glared "I'm not doing it" he seethed "you have no choice! Do you want to be blind?" she asked.

"Rumiya, I'm not, case closed" he growled "Sasuke, he gave you his eyes for a reason, he knew this will happen eventually" she reasoned and he turned away and sprung his wings "come on, we'll return to the battlefield" he told her.

"Sasuke, if you don't take us to Konoha right now, I won't return and neither will you" she warned, he glared at her fiercely and she glared back heatedly.

*********

"I can't believe this, Rumiya" Sasuke called "hmm?" she answered "Rumiya, I can't do this" he murmured, she frowned "Sasuke" she sighed.

"They're his eyes, I can already feel it…I can't do this, take them out, I can't fight with them" he whispered, mild panic in his voice and she pressed her lips together.

"Sasuke, this is what Itachi wanted" she spoke "fuck what he wanted! I don't want this!" he thundered "Sasuke man up! You're an Uchiha!" she snapped, he went silent.

"Sasuke, please, this is for the best, I know it's worse than uncomfortable, but think of it that way, this is proof that you will have Itachi with you, always, forever, it's like you're giving a part of him a chance to live" she comforted, he didn't respond, his body was tense, but soon enough his posture relaxed and she noticed he went back to sleep.

*********

"Shit, what did we miss?" Rumiya whispered "a lot, no need to miss more" Sasuke responded and they sprinted into the battlefield where they stood for a moment dumbfounded at the sight of Sakura and Naruto destroying mini Ten-Tailed beasts.

"Rumiya-chan, Sasuke" Naruto called when he noticed them and they turned to him "guys you're late!" he berated "heroes always come late" Rumiya retorted and Naruto rolled his eyes at them.

"Come on, we need to defeat the beast and set the Bijuu free to defeat Obito" he spoke "who?" Sasuke snapped.

"Madara's dead, we've been deceived, so was Itachi, that guy's name is Obito, Kakashi-sensei's former teammate" he answered grimly and Rumiya's jaw clenched, they went silent for a moment.

"Let's go" Sasuke commanded and they turned to the beast, Rumiya analyzed the area for a moment "guys, I and Sakura will take care of the clones, you attack the beast and free the Bijuu, then we'll destroy it together" she commanded and they nodded.

A yellow cloak of Chakra covered Naruto and Sasuke activated his Eternal Mangekyo, they inspected each other for a moment before they jumped into action and she and Sakura turned to each other before starting their own attacks, defeating the clones in record speed.

Naruto created a Rasenshuriken and threw it at the beast; it merged with Sasuke's Blaze Release: Susanoo Kagutsuchi Arrow, it hit the Ten-tails and the beast started burning under the flames of Amaterasu, but Sasuke extinguished the flames for Naruto to free the Bijuu, Gaara and B joined and they started pulling out the Tailed Beasts.

They sprung out and the Ten-Tails began transforming, the clones started withering and the Shinobi started cheering, as it turned back to the Demonic Statue, Obito turned back and fell a distance away "I will get him" Kakashi informed and dashed.

Rumiya looked the Demonic Statue over thoughtfully "guys, remember that time back after we all mastered our signature Jutsu?" she asked and they frowned in confusion before Naruto's eyes widened and he grinned "hell yea" he responded "what he said" Sasuke smirked remembering.

"Let's do it" she nodded, she turned to Naruto and his grin turned into a smirk, he started forming an Ultra-Big Ball Rasengan.

She joined him and pumped concentrated Chakra into the sphere, turning it abyss blue, it grew bigger and bigger slowly, till it was hard to carry it, then Sasuke scooped it from their grasp and flapped his wings, the sphere started producing black flames as Sasuke flew in the air.

He extended his arm forward and shot the ball right through the Statue with a Chidori Spear "Black Chakra Sphere!" they called together just as the Statue all but imploded.

Sasuke jumped down and they stared at the demolished former Statue in wonder, then they turned to Kakashi who came waving to them, they turned to each other "we…did it" Naruto realized.

"We did" Rumiya agreed and Sasuke smirked, Rumiya giggled giddily "we're so awesome" she gushed and Naruto laughed, Sasuke chuckled.

People started running toward them, cheering and Rumiya held out her fist, they pumped it and they grinned to each other, their eyes shone with pride and happiness, with love swirling in their orbs to each other, Rumiya made a move to hug them but she was stopped with hoards of Shinobi coming to cheer for them.

Rumiya vaguely noticed Kakashi talking with Tsunade with Obito crouching beside him, but she was too distracted by the cheering crowds to care enough.


	8. The Beginning of The End

It all started with that one coincidence "Sasuke-kun?" her head titled to the side and they turned to her, Sasuke blinked and smiled "hey Rumiya" he greeted, she grinned "hi, you're here training too?" she asked, glancing at Itachi who smiled to her.

"Yeah" he grinned, she grinned back "I came here to train with my brother" she turned to him, so did Sasuke, the guy smiled to him "hello Sasuke" he greeted and Sasuke smiled and turned to Itachi "this is Itachi, my brother" he introduced with a proud tone.

"Hello, Rumiya, Rei long time no see" Itachi greeted and the youngsters blinked in confusion "hello Itachi, it's been a while indeed" Rei greeted back grinning, Itachi smiled brightly.

"You know each other?" Rumiya asked "we were teammates" Rei clarified and they gaped but nodded, then Rumiya grinned "can we train together? Please" she asked, Sasuke nodded in agreement, though only to see what his brother's teammate was like.

"I don't mind" Rei shrugged and Itachi nodded, Rumiya giggled and Sasuke smiled brightly.

But he didn't expect it to go that way, Sasuke thought that training with Rumiya will mean she will fan girl over him and distract him from both his training and his brother's teammate, but instead, he found himself distracted watching her train, thus he missed the target a couple of times in his Shuriken throwing training.

Unlike him, Rumiya was training in Taijutsu, or what seemed like that at first, he knew her clan had special Taijutsu techniques, but they weren't taught of its secrets and he never saw her use it so he didn't know what it was like, but whatever he expected never included Rumiya punching wooden logs, sometimes destroying them and sometimes he would hear her griping in pain holding her bloodied and twisted hand to her chest till Rei fixed it.

The first time it happened he was a little panicked because her fingers were twisted in scary ways and her hand turned blue, he expected her elder brother to freak out but he just snapped it right into place, something he winced from because the sound was freaky and because Rumiya would flinch, but she didn't cry once, he would put his hand over hers after that and they would glow green and it will turn back to normal and Rumiya would resume her training.

He asked her about it of course, when they finished training "that's normal, because people usually strike with the strength they're capable of using whilst making sure to keep minimal damage to themselves," she started her explanation.

"In our clan, we don't do that, because we can't strike with destructive powers if we're afraid of hurting ourselves, but that doesn't mean we actually hurt ourselves," she frowned jumping, as if she read his thoughts about them not caring if they were hurt, or maybe that they had super powers.

"That's the special thing about our power, it's in the Chakra," she grinned "we have the ability to concentrate our Chakra so much, if for example I pump a portion tinier than tiny into your Tenkatsu it will get destroyed because of the pressure, from that you either won't be able to generate Chakra in that spot for a very long time or won't be able to do it again" she marveled with sparkly eyes, he gulped.

"But that's not the only thing we do, just that won't defeat our enemy, so we add physical strength, we generate Chakra to our hands or feet and when we strike, we let it out, thus it will react in a way like an explosion and will hurt your body itself badly" she giggled, he found himself fighting the urge to step away from her.

"And there's the last thing, our Chakra element," she smiled "like the Uchiha have fire, we have lightning, and it's the last touch in our techniques, I still have a long way to learn it though, in that last bit, we take the Chakra we generated into our striking point and transform it into lightning Chakra, that in addition to the heavy concentration on it, will do three things to the opponent," she gushed and he wanted her to stop talking.

"First, it will destroy his Tenkatsu, second, it will destroy his bones, third, it will fry his muscles and nerves, thus whatever spot we hit will be as good as useless for more than a few months" she giggled gleefully.

"But I'm still not that good, I'm still training to concentrate my Chakra, it's hard since I have to do that, then I will have to transfer all that heavy Chakra to my fist or foot then strike, if it was anyone else, their Tenkatsu would've been destroyed, but that's the special thing about our clan" she smiled easily.

"Doesn't it hurt?" he asked "of course it does! But I'm used to it now, the first time I broke my fingers I threw up and fainted!" she answered proudly "other than that, a Shinobi must not show emotion" she added seriously.

"You aren't Shinobi yet, and it's Kunoichi to you" he responded "it doesn't matter, in a fight if you're strong the enemy's only care will be how to keep themselves alive," she scowled pouting "and if I want to be a strong ninja, I have to train hard, and I include emotion control in my training, it wouldn't do in the battlefield to fight then start crying if you get punched" she nodded firmly.

Sasuke pondered over her words for a while after that, and as he understood what she meant, he found himself respecting her on a whole new level, and he looked forward to training with her every day after.

For 3 years, they've been best friends, since they were 5 when they first entered the academy, got to know each other and later met in that training ground till this moment, she was his closest friend, his only friend, and he had to ruin it.

"Sasuke-kun?" she had called "what do you want?" he asked "I want to talk to you" she answered.

"I have no business with you, go away" he responded "why are you ignoring me?" she asked "are you deaf?" he finally turned to her, but with a glare.

"No, that's why I'm not leaving, I understand how you feel, that's why I'll stay until you're better" she replied firmly "understand how I feel?!" he snapped and she jumped.

"Do you think you know how I feel!??" he edged closer to her "do you know how it feels to lose your whole family?!!" all he felt was anger and hatred, while she feared the nightmares she saw in his eyes, that once used to remind her of the night sky when they twinkled happily, now they looked like abyss, he towered over her.

"Do you know how it feels to be betrayed by your closest family?!" he thundered "do you know how it feels to lose your brother because he's a traitor!?" he boomed, she lowered her face.

"Do you know what it's like to lose your brother because he betrayed you?!" he roared "do you know how it feels like for your older brother to kill you whole family?" he screamed, she flinched.

"But I lost my older brother too!" she replied finally "that doesn't compare to what I feel!" he yelled and she stiffened.

"What?" her eyes widened "I meant what I said! Do you really think only losing your brother will make that much of a difference!? I lost my whole family! My whole clan!" he screamed.

"I…I understand how it feels to lose a loved person! And because of that I wanted to come to you! Because we both understand the same pain! I know my pain doesn't compare to yours! But it's the same pain!" she answered.

She was shocked to see his Sharingan swirling angrily "shut up! You don't understand! Now get lost! I never want to see you again!" he pushed her to the side with enough strength to send her pummeling into the ground face first.

That was when he came back to his senses and realized what he did, but it was too late, Rumiya looked up, tears flowing over her cheeks, the first time he's seen her cry and he caused it, when he had promised himself that he'll be the first to comfort her because he knew whatever could make Rumiya cry must be bad, and he made her cry.

She glared at him through her bloodshot eyes, her expression pained, she gasped a breath and stood up "I hate you" she sobbed and ran away, he stood there in shock, unable to do anything, "Rumiya" he jumped and opted to run after her, but she already disappeared.

The young lonely blond frowned when he heard sobs coming from the tree his loyal swing hung from, he walked to it and was shocked to see a girl crying there, and not just any girl, Sasuke Uchiha's best friend, the one all the girls were jealous of but couldn't do anything to because she was Sasuke's best friend.

It was settled, Sasuke was a jerk "are you okay?" he had asked and she jumped, but what he never expected for her to start crying harder "I'm so sorry" she sobbed.

"What? Why?" he squinted in confusion "you're always alone, I saw you but I never cared, now I know how it feels, I'm so lonely, I'm so sorry Naruto" she sobbed and hiccuped.

He didn't know how to respond to that, "where's Sasuke?" he asked and she paused for a moment before she broke into another fit of sobs, she wasn't bawling or anything but she looked so small, crying quietly like that, he couldn't help but feel sympathy, he used to cry like that, but he never found anyone by his side, for that he crawled beside her, trying to think of a way to comfort her.

"What happened?" he asked, he always heard talking made it better "I hurt him" she sobbed and he frowned "how so?" he asked.

"Sasuke-kun lost his family" she finally looked at him, he didn't know what to make of that "Itachi-niisan killed them all, I don't know why, but he killed them, and now Sasuke's alone" she sobbed covering her mouth.

"But I lost my brother too; I didn't go to rub it in his face or anything! I still have my family, he doesn't but I get how he feels, it's the same pain just different levels" she cried "I'm so stupid" she whimpered putting her head on her knees.

"I miss Rei-niisan, but my pain doesn't compare to Sasuke's, I shouldn't be crying" she sobbed "that doesn't cancel your pain though, your allowed to cry" he finally spoke, she turned to him again, her tears streaming heavily, her breath catching every few seconds, her face dirty, so he did the only thing he could think of, he hugged her.

She went stiff and he regretted his move, but when she hugged back he relaxed, he just didn't expect for her to let out a painful howl and break into loud cries for her brother.

After what felt like hours and probably was, she calmed down, she looked tired as she gazed at him in a way he didn't understand "does it always feel like this?" she whispered, her voice was hoarse.

"What?" he asked "loneliness" she answered and he stilled and looked at the ground "you…you get used to it" he answered and jumped when he saw her tears stream down again.

"I don't like it" she murmured "it's not nice really" he shrugged "can I become your friend?" she asked and he turned to her in shock "really?" he asked.

"Loneliness isn't fair, it's not nice, no one should feel it" she reasoned, he gulped "what about Sasuke?" he asked.

"We don't fit anymore, it won't work out" she sighed "but I don't have other friends, I'm afraid" she whimpered, looking at him in shame "I don't want to feel lonely, b-but if we both become friends, we won't be" she spoke "I promise you won't regret it, I will do my best to be a good friend, it will be a win-win situation" she added desperately.

He stared at her for a moment before he smiled gently "I don't want another person to feel what I felt, you surely deserve what I never had" he grinned slowly, her eyes widened and she sobbed again "I'm so sorry, I'm so selfish…I don't deserve you" she cried, he hugged her and she hugged back tightly crying some more before she completely calmed down.

"Thank you Naruto-kun" she smiled, he smiled back "I don't think I can ever return your favor, but I promise to be a true friend to you till no end" she promised "we're friends then" his eyes sparkled.

"We're friends" she extended her hand in promise and he shook it, with a promise to meet the next day, they separated.

On her way back she saw Sasuke close to her home and ducked her face in guilt, he winced when she did it, believing she was angry, the last person who cared about him and he pushed her away, he hurt her and made her cry, she hated him, but he was too afraid to apologize, too ashamed, little did he know, so was she.

********

They just stared at him and he stared right back, only Naruto smiled "keep away from trouble" he warned and Obito smirked haughtily "tell that to trouble" he responded and turned to Kakashi, they went silent once more before Obito nodded in farewell and left.

"Are you sure that was a good decision?" Rumiya asked, he nodded "I trust him" he replied, she smiled "yes, Hokage-sama" she nodded; he smiled wryly behind his mask.

"How does Ramen sound?" Naruto asked and they all shook their heads but agreed.

********

"Ah!!" she yelped and sat up, a layer of sweat covered her and she trembled in her spot, the flashbacks continued and she whimpered, a sob wrecking her body, she rocked back and forth as she cried, her arms hugging her knees to her chest, the door open and she jumped, the person yelped at the Kunai embedded into the wall and she paused when Ren entered the room with a worried expression.

She sobbed and sniffled and he walked to her bed, he embraced her and she cried into his chest, he soothed her with soft spoken words and let her cry, and soon like every night since the war he lied down beside her and slept next to her, protecting her from the nightmares.

*******

She smiled at the sight of him, handsome in the Kimono, he was still dazed as she walked up to him, his eyes on her in captivation, she finally stepped beside him and his gaze on her made her weak in the knees, they smiled to each other fondly and turned to the preacher, the ceremony started.

"Ow, not so hard" Rumiya sighed and Sakura murmured an apology "did you see how Ren looked at you though?" she sighed dreamily and Rumiya chuckled "I love him" she grinned.

"Done" Sakura grinned and Rumiya turned to the mirror, no Geisha makeup or heavy Kimono on, she was dressed in a glorious white Kimono and her hair done up with flowers "oh my" Rumiya gaped at herself.

It was the first time she felt the situation, she was getting married, to none other than the man she was deeply in love with, and he loved her as passionately, she was alive to witness that moment, and so was he, a lump rose in her throat and she covered her face, a sob breaking in her body, she smiled and chuckled, her tears streaming down her cheeks.

Sakura hugged her and she hugged back, it took them five minutes to calm down, Sakura chuckled as she wiped her own tears away "look at you, you ruined your makeup" she scolded, Rumiya giggled.

They finally left the room and were met with the waiting Naruto and Sasuke "wow! 'Ttebayo" Naruto exclaimed and Rumiya giggled "I know, thanks to Sakura" she grinned, they turned to Sakura "you rock Sakura-chan!" Naruto praised and she giggled coyly.

"I still need to get ready though, you guys head on" she told them "you aren't ready yet?" Sasuke asked, she blinked confused "does this look ready to you?" she gestured to her simple skirt and blouse "you look good enough" he responded, but they all knew how much that meant in Sasuke language, Sakura blushed and the other two grinned.

"I'll wait up then, you two go ahead" he told them and they nodded eagerly "see you there" they bid and left "who do you have to date Naruto?" Rumiya asked, he shrugged "didn't plan that really" he responded.

"How about Hinata?" she asked, he looked at her weirdly "huh?" he questioned "Hinata doesn't have a date, why don't you run up to her place and pick her up? I'm sure it will be a pretty surprise, since she'll be lonely with Kiba and Shino" she grinned, he thought about it for a moment before grinning "I'll pick her up then, see you soon" he bid and they hugged before he dashed away, she just giggled and continued on her way.

"You look gorgeous!" Ino squealed and Rumiya nodded and eyed her date "that's Sai, the one I've been telling you about" Ino introduced and Sai nodded in greeting, Rumiya smiled "I hope Ino isn't too hard on you" she joked.

"She is, but I don't mind it" he smiled and Rumiya gave a confused smile, Ino just giggled nervously and walked in.

Kiba and Shino came next, and then Tenten and Lee, then Choji confused her by coming with B's team, the vibe between him and Karui suggestive, Shikamaru came with Temari and her siblings, she wasn't surprised.

"You look beautiful Rumiya" Hinata spoke and Naruto nodded in agreement, Rumiya just grinned "you take care of her" Naruto narrowed his eyes at Ren who grinned "of course" he promised and Rumiya laughed.

"Wow Sakura" Rumiya smiled and Sakura grinned "I know" she giggled, Rumiya grinned as Sasuke glared at a passing guy who stared at Sakura for too long, Sasuke turned to her and his gaze softened, then he turned to Ren "you hurt her you answer to me" he warned and Ren nodded, not fazed by his glare "to us, you mean" Naruto reminded out of nowhere and Rumiya giggled.

She and Ren exchanged a glance and he grinned to her, his eyes shining brightly, they stood closer to each other and the guests continued coming and they continued greeting.

********

"I'm pregnant" she breathed and his eyes widened then his face lit up and he laughed and scooped her in his arms, still laughing, she laughed with him "we're going to have a baby!" he laughed "oh god, I love you" he looked at her grinning widely.

"I love you too!" she giggled and he laughed again, swirling her around, he pecked her lips and set her down gently "I can't believe this" he sighed, chuckling "you're going to be a daddy" she grinned, he chuckled, when he looked into his eyes she felt ignited just by the thrill in them, they could replace the sun and no one will notice the difference.

*******

"I'm too pregnant for this" she sighed, she continued stroking Natsu's hair as she watched out of the medical center the ruckus outside, her heart raced and she felt sweaty at the sights, her body heat constantly turned from hot to cold continuously and she kept getting flashbacks of the war and attack by Pain.

"Aunty Rumiya" Natsu called and she turned to him, an image of Marika's crushed belly flashed through her mind and she gulped "yes?" she asked "when will Mama and Papa come back?" he asked "soon" she breathed out, he nodded and laid his head back on her lap and she returned to stroking his hair, a few minutes passed when she felt it, the unimaginable indescribable pain of labor, she gasped and jumped in her seat, Natsu sat up and looked at her in confusion "aunty?" he asked.

"Natsu, call a nurse, hurry" she struggled and he nodded and strutted quickly, she groaned and gasped "oh shit" she gripped the arms of the chair, two nurses came quickly and helped her into a wheelchair, her water broke on the way to the operation room and by that time she was yelling and cursing like a sailor from the pain.

*******

"Can I hold him?" he asked and she chuckled and nodded, he scooped the infant carefully, wonder in his eyes "he's so tiny" he whispered, a soft smile on his face "so beautiful" he pressed a feather soft kiss on his forehead, breathing in his scent "oh god" he chuckled, she smiled as she watched him, her two most important people, her family, her lover, her husband and her child, their child, the father of her child and her boy, her little baby, their angel, tears sprang from her eyes and Ren gave her the child back, hugging her after she secured him in her arms.

"Takumi" she whispered and his smile widened "Takumi" he tested the name "Takumi Takiyama" she agreed, he grinned "it's lovely" he nodded "our little Takumi" he cooed.

********

"You can't even throw a punch you loser" Natsu smirked and Takumi glared at him and aimed again, but his strike was flicked away easily, he threw a well aimed kick but Natsu dodged it quickly, that particular move he learnt from his father, Rumiya just chuckled.

The door knocked and slid open to show a bowing maid "lunch will be ready in 15 minutes" she informed and left, Natsu and Takumi grinned, they dashed back into the compound and straight to the bathrooms, she could hear them bickering from the end of the hallway.

She entered her and Ren's room to change where she caught him changing, he grinned to her "hey sexy" she greeted smirking "hey gorgeous" he greeted back, catching her waist in his hand and pulling her close "how was work?" she asked "uneventful, but I'm horny" he answered and she giggled "wait till lunch, Mr. Horny" she instructed pecking his lips and backing away to change herself "oh a strip show" he laughed and she laughed, teasing him as she changed.

"I still can't believe that kid did it though" Natsu snickered "uncle Naruto must've been furious" Takumi spoke "oh kids, uncle Naruto used to do the same pranks when he was younger" Rumiya chuckled.

"Oh I remember those times" Marika giggled "he was such an adorable kid" she sighed "like father like son, I guess" she shrugged.

Rumiya chuckled to herself at the memories, the days of innocence, the war still haunted her, whenever she looked at Natsu she remembered the pillar that killed him and Marika, she couldn't look Marika in the eyes for months, the Toneri attack just worsened her case, but with the help of Ren and her friends she pulled herself together.

She glanced at Ren at the head of the table, he felt her gaze immediately and smiled affectionately, her smile widened and she turned across the table, her father across from her, her uncle at his side, Kai, Marika and Kenta and the rest of the clan members, then she turned to the kids beside her, Natsu the healthy 13 year old son of Marika and Kai, scolded her 11 years old son, Takumi about a strike he did wrong in their training, she found herself grinning.

She was so proud, never did she think she'll retire her career at 19, young 13 years old her would've scoffed at that idea, the war took such a toll on her, but despite that she's so satisfied, to be able to spend time with her son, with her family, to actually get to know them all like true family, she didn't get the title of clan leader, but Ren has and so will her son, she was happy, that wasn't her happy ending, it was just the beginning of her happiness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd like to thank you all, from the bottom of my heart for reading my story, this is my proudest accomplishment, I hope you liked it as much as I do.
> 
> I dedicate this work to Kishimoto Masashi-sensei and all the Naruto fans, without Kishimoto-sensei Naruto wouldn't have been made, without Naruto, I wouldn't have learned the so many life changing lessons I now live by, Naruto started my writing and Naruto improved it, without Naruto I wouldn't be who I am now, thank you Kishimoto Masashi, thank you Naruto.
> 
> Thank you my readers, with you I had the courage to continue on writing and finishing this story, thank you all.


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